It’s only a matter of hours when I find myself in Mr. Kim’s living room. As soon as Mr. Kim set his mind on letting me stay in his house, he called a dozen men to pack and move out all my stuff and deliver it to his place. I don’t even have that much stuff, but thanks to the extra help, I guess things got done faster.

 

I look around his home as my stuff is brought in.

 

 

 

    I’m surprised at the amount of bricks that make up his walls; a dark brown color scheme is present throughout. His living room is grand, consisting of light colored sofas in contrast to his dark floor and walls, along with enormous windows that allow the sun to shine beautifully through. I notice the detailed lighting, white bookshelves neatly packed with books of all sizes, and even a telescope. I smile at the fact that this place is exactly like its owner: neat, cut clean but definitely not boring. It has an odd charm to it.

 

 

“I think that’s all, thank you,” I hear Mr. Kim say by the door. When I turn, I see that all my stuff has been moved to a room on the right. After the men have left, Mr. Kim gestures for me to follow him into the room.

 

 

It’s a bedroom; the walls are still made of dark bricks, but the curtains are pastel pink and the bed, big enough for at least three people to sleep on, is covered in white sheets and full of pillows of all shapes and sizes. A large wooden desk, accompanied by tall bookshelves decorate the other side of the wall. It’s perfect.

 

“Is this a guest room?” I beam at Mr. Kim.

 

“No, it’s yours,” he shrugs as he leans by the doorway, watching me prance around the room like a kid.

 

“What do you mean? It’s not like you were expecting me to come here,” I give him a puzzled look as I sit on the bed. It’s so soft and nice.

 

“I guess you don’t remember how you used this room whenever you came over,” Mr. Kim says with a slight laugh. But his eyes are filled with gloom.

 

“Oh…” I quietly say.

 

 

“Do you like it?”

 

“I absolutely love it. I wish I could just live here with you.”

 

“Me too. But I don’t think your mom trusts me enough.”

 

“But you even built a room for me. I should tell her that I don’t want this room to go to waste.”

 

“Even if you use this room occasionally, that’s good enough for me, baby.”  

 

 

I blink. This room...is mine? I feel like I should be getting used to the flashbacks that are becoming more and more common, but every memory is so new to me. So...cherishable. I wish I could remember everything. Everything that happened with Mr. Kim. I can’t imagine what it’s like to be face to face with someone you love but be the only one who remembers all that you’ve done together.

 

“I’ll give you time to settle in,” Mr. Kim breaks my thoughts as he turns to leave.

 

“Thank you,” I call out to him before adding, “For everything.”

 

Mr. Kim turns back around and looks at me as he comes near.

 

 

 

“And thank you, for being honest with me and telling me everything. But can you promise me something, baby?” his dark brown eyes are fixed on mine.

 

“What?”

 

“Whenever you need help, or feel like crying...come to daddy first, okay?”

 

“...okay,” I peep, looking down at my feet. My face is already warm.

 

“Promise?” he holds out his pinkie.

 

“Promise,” I lock mine with his and he grins at the sight of our hands together.

 

 

***

 

 

After roughly organizing my stuff onto the shelf and closet, I decide to go get some coffee. I’m oddly craving it. I debate over whether or not I should tell Mr. Kim I’m going out, and end up grabbing an outerwear along with my bag before sneaking out. He’s probably busy, anyway.

 

If I remember correctly, the best coffee I’ve had recently was at a place by SM hospital. Hm, maybe I’ll grab two cups and stop by Sung Kyung’s office. If she’s not too busy, of course.

 

I order one hot cup of latte and one iced americano, the latter being Sung Kyung’s favorite. As I walk into the hospital lobby, I find myself surrounded by doctors and nurses scurrying in different directions, along with patients chilling on flat couches, watching television. I make my way towards the front desk and as soon as the lady sees me with my two cups of coffee, she smiles and nods, “Dr. Lee is in her office right now. You can head on over.”

 

“Thank you,” I nod back and smile at how she knows I’m Sung Kyung’s friend. I mean, I do come here whenever I have the chance so I guess the lady remembers me. I quickly head towards Sung Kyung’s office and knock on her door.

 

“Yes, come in,” I hear her voice. I open the door and find her sitting at her desk, engrossed in her computer screen. When she looks up at me, her eyes grow wide and breaks into a smile.

 

“(y/n)!” she gets up. “What’re you doing here?”

 

“I just thought I’d stop by to see my Bible,” I hand her the iced americano.

 

“Aw, thank you. How’d you know I was about to go get some coffee myself?” she takes the cup and gestures for me to sit down. I take a seat by the coffee table in the corner of her office. She joins me.

 

“I’m glad we communicate telepathically,” I shrug as I smile. She takes a sip and sighs satisfied, “Did you get this from the place just right here?” She points out the window and I laugh.

 

“Yes I did. Their coffee is the best I’ve had so far,” I say.

 

“Yes, I know right? It’s popular among the doctors here too,” she takes another sip. She then sets her cup down and looks at me.

 

“I’m glad you’re here, (y/n). I wanted to call you about your housing issue, because I felt so bad leaving you without an option,” she plays with the straw in her cup.

 

“It’s okay,” I tell her. I don’t know if I should tell her I’m staying with Mr. Kim, though. It’s obvious she’s going to be my ‘second mom’ again and tell me to leave immediately.

 

“No it’s not. I can’t let my (y/n) be homeless,” she says with a slight pout before continuing with a smile, “That’s why I asked one of my fellow colleagues, and he gave me a list of affordable places to stay.”

 

“Sung Kyung, I’m really fine…” I start to say.

 

“No look, let me call him right now so he can tell you more about it. He’s an expert at this kind of stuff,” she begins to get up.

 

“No, I’ve found a place to stay,” I blurt out and grab her arm. She looks at me rather surprised and slowly sits back down.

 

“You did?” she asks.

 

“Yeah,” I nod. I avert my eyes and take a sip of my own coffee, in hopes she doesn’t ask what I think she’s going to ask next.

 

“Where?” Dang it. I knew she was going to ask.

 

“Um, at a friend’s house…” I say quietly.

 

“Friend who?” she eyes me suspiciously.

 

“It’s someone you don’t know,” I lie. Sung Kyung grabs one of my hands and forces me to look at her in the eye. I gulp.

 

“(y/n), tell me the truth. Who are you staying with?” she raises an eyebrow. I sigh, giving up. She’s so good at catching me lie and making me tell her everything. But then again, she’s my best friend. She can keep any secret.

 

“Mr. Kim,” I say finally. Sung Kyung opens but soon closes it. After a moment, she opens it again with a tone of disbelief, “You mean...you’re at Kim Junmyeon’s house?”

 

“Look, I know you’re worried I’m staying at some man’s house. But he’s really kind to me and apparently he’s someone who knew me before my accident,” I rap. I already know that Sung Kyung knows Mr. Kim and his past relation to me, but I don’t want to hint at her that I’m aware of that also.

 

“(y/n), that’s why I’m worried. He’s not just any man. He’s your past…” she trails off. She takes a deep breath and looks at me once more before continuing, “He’s someone you used to love.”

 

“...” I don’t know how to respond. I wasn’t expecting Sung Kyung to be the first to bluntly tell me how I used to date him.

 

“Are you sure you’re okay staying with him after knowing that?” she asks when I’m silent. She gives me a concerned look and I slowly nod.

“I think staying with him might actually help me regain my memories,” I tell her.

 

“Is that something you really want?” she asks gently.

 

“Yes,” I gaze into her eyes, “I want to remember him so much.”

 

“Okay then,” she gives in after a moment. She gives me a weak smile as she picks up her cup, “I’m going to respect what you want. And the decisions you make.”

 

“Thanks, Sung Kyung,” I smile back at her. She eyes me before saying, “But I’m going to make sure you make the right decisions.”

 

“Hm?” I look at her confused. She clears as she gets up and makes her way to a cabinet drawer near her desk. She opens one of the drawers and digs through whatever is in there, looking for something. When it appears as though she’s found what she’s looking for, she walks back over and places an item on the table. I look at it for a moment. The silver packaging and ring-like outline that’s visible from the outside makes my face grow warm. Is that...what I think it is?

 

 

“Oh come on, don’t act as if you’ve never seen a before,” Sung Kyung rolls her eyes at me. She gives me a playful smile when I look at her horrified.

 

“Why do you have this? I don’t need this,” I say disgusted as I push it back towards her.

 

 

 

“I’m a doctor, (y/n). And I know what is likely to happen when a man and a woman live together. Especially if they’ve been past lovers,” she places her hands on the table and leans towards me.

 

“But…” I begin. Sung Kyung shakes her head, cutting me off.

 

“Just listen to me, (y/n). I don’t want to see you suffer potential consequences. I told you I’m going to ‘respect your decisions,’ but I’m also going to make sure they don’t have regrettable outcomes,” she shrugs.

 

“Okay but...I’m pretty sure I’m not going to use this,” I say after a minute.

 

“I’m not giving this to you because you have to use it. By all means, it would be great if you didn’t,” Sung Kyung answers. I look at her.

 

“Then…?”

 

 

 

 

 

“All I’m saying is that it’s good to have precautions. Especially when dealing with Kim Junmyeon, right?” she raises her eyebrows at me. What is she trying to say? I then remember the first day of work where Mr. Kim straight up kissed me. My face grows warm and I have to admit, Sung Kyung is right; with Mr. Kim, this...item she gave me might be needed.

 

 

***

 

 

    I end up eating dinner with Sung Kyung and getting back to Mr. Kim’s place fairly late. I check my phone and see eight missed calls, all from Mr. Kim. I also see twenty unread messages from him too. I scroll through some of them.

 

 

    [Baby]

 

    [Where are you?]

 

    [Why aren’t you answering your phone?]

 

    [Daddy’s getting worried]

 

    [Are you trying to make me mad?]

 

    [Call me when you see this]

 

 

Uh oh. Maybe I should’ve told him I was going out. I’ll have to sneak in, hoping he’s asleep. I stand outside his door and realize the fact that I don’t know his passcode to get in. Shoot, so much for ‘sneaking in.’ I find myself having to ring.

 

 

“...” Mr. Kim doesn’t say anything as he opens the door to let me in. I search his face, but it’s expressionless. He walks into the kitchen and opens the fridge. He then takes out a bottle of water and begins to drink. I go towards him and he looks at me.

 

“Is there something you want to say?” he asks in a low voice as he sets the bottle down on the counter. I can tell he’s upset.

 

“I’m so sorry for not telling you I’d be going out, but I thought I’d be bothering you if I did. I just went to grab some coffee and see a friend,” I explain as best as I can.   

 

“And why didn’t you answer my calls or texts?” he crosses his arms.

 

“My phone was on silent,” I say. I quickly add, “I’m sorry.”

 

“Do you have any idea how worried I was? You could have at least texted me about where you were,” Mr. Kim says in a stern tone. His eyes alone are enough to scold me.

 

“I’m sorry,” I lower my head and look at the ground. Mr. Kim’s slippers soon come into view and before I can look up, I feel his arms wrap around me as he pulls me in for a hug. He rests his head on my shoulder and I can feel his steady breathing against my neck. I tense up.

 

 

 

 

“Don’t do that ever again, okay? Don’t scare daddy like that,” he says softly.

 

“Okay,” I promise, with his blue knitted sweater rubbing against my nose.

 

“And next time, don’t even worry about whether or not you’d be bothering me. Just let me know where you’re going,” he adds. I nod and he slightly laughs, tickling my neck. He then pulls away and looks at me with a pout. “Was it a guy?”

 

“What?” I look back at him.

 

“The friend you met...was it a guy?” he repeats.

 

“No,” I almost laugh. Mr. Kim, I’ve come to realize, gets jealous easily. After I assure him it’s a female friend I met, he soon says, “Well since you ran off today like that, you’re stuck with me all day tomorrow.”

 

Oh that’s right. Tomorrow’s Sunday.

 

“Do you have something you want to do?” I slightly smile at him. Spending the whole day with him isn’t such a bad idea. Wait, did I just say that?

 

“Is that a ‘yes?’” Mr. Kim asks.

 

“Yeah.”

 

“Then we go to the beach. I haven’t been there in ages,” he says with a grin. I nod and he tells me to go to bed right away so that we can catch the morning bus.

 

“Wait, we’re going by bus?” I look at him.

 

“Yeah, like last time we went…” he trails off, and I realize it’s another one of those memories only he remembers. I feel bad and quickly tell him, “Okay, well I’ll go to bed now so that I’ll get plenty of sleep for tomorrow.”

 

Mr. Kim nods and waves at me saying, “Alright. Good night, baby.” But just as I’m about to open the door to my room, he calls me and I turn to him.

 

“Yes?” I ask when he just stands there.

 

“I forgot to tell you but um, the passcode to the house is your birthday,” he quietly says and goes into his room. I’m pretty sure I’m blushing again.

 

***

 

---

Author's Notes:

 

I am so terribly sorry I am late; I had to go on an unexpected business trip and just got back last night....

 

So I tried my best to update today and because I want to at least update one more time this week, I'll post our beach date with Mr. Kim tomorrow.

 

But it will be very short (I apologize in advance)...!

 

Anyway, thank you so much for reading again, and for putting up with my story!

 

Once again, I'm going to remind you that Suho's story is so much longer than the previous ones, so there'll be a lot more chapters for him XDDD

 

See you tomorrow!!!

 

Much love <3