"So~ welcome back to our humble abode!" -Joohyun pushed the door open and gleefully ushered Taehyung into their house.

In the beginning, Taehyung had assumed that he would be returning to the apartment he lived in with Min Ha Na as soon as he was discharged from the hospital. He had attempted to reach out to Ha Na with a phone which the nurses said was his. However, the number that he memorized by heart seemed to be unreachable. The phone that somehow survived the accident with dented edges and slightly cracked screen made him thought that it was dysfunctioning and it was probably the reason why his calls could not get through. He was only convinced that Ha Na's number was no longer in use afterwards when he tried to dial it a few more times on different days with a different phone and still received no answer.

Taehyung did realise that the phone he possessed did not contain a single contact detail or even images of his 'girlfriend' stored in them. Instead, its photo gallery was only flooded with predominantly snapshots of himself, Bae Joohyun, their friends and sceneries. Even the wallpaper to his phone was also an image of him with his arms wrapped around Bae Joohyun. He would've probably guessed that the nurses had mistakenly returned him the wrong mobile phone but there was no way he could deny ownership to the device when almost all of the photos in the phone has his face in them. 

At night, when he was wakeful and alone in the hospital room, he took time to leisurely skim through the text messages that were on the phone, exchanged between himself and his friends as well as Bae Joohyun. Its content was quite amusing to read on but he could've sworn that all the sweet-talking conversations he had with Joohyun were not something he would've ever said to anyone. Not even Ha Na, for that matter. He was shaking his head and cringing throughout the whole time he read back on all of the text messages he had sent her, repulsed at himself for being awfully corny and cheesy with his words.

Upon reading the text messages and seeing the pictures of her on his phone, Taehyung was gradually getting a little more curious about the lady who everyone claimed, was his girlfriend. As much as it was difficult to believe, his heart was inclined to find out a little more about her. When he was given a choice to choose on who he wished to come home with between his parents and Bae Joohyun, he made the decision to live with this 'stranger' he had forgotten. 
Tired of feeling as if everyone around him was trying to take advantage of his condition and manipulate his beliefs with their truth, he knew that he had to find the answers to all of his questions on his own and he thought that Bae Joohyun might be the only one who could help him out.

So there he was, entering a house he was certain he had never stepped foot in before, upon returning from the hospital.

"So...this is our place?"-Taehyung asked, accentuating on the pronoun. 

 "Well, technically it's your humble abode. Long story short, you bought this home from Minho and then we agreed that we'd split the bills if I-"

"Who's Minho?" -Taehyung cuts Joohyun off with a question, curiously looking around the house as if it was his first time visiting it.

"Your friend slash landlord." -Joohyun replied, "He rented you the house after you broke up with...umm..." -she immediately paused, tucking her hair behind her ears then said, "I mean...you rented and lived here alone for about two years before I became your housemate. Then afterwards...well, not too long ago, you purchased this place from him."

"Wait...so we're housemates?" -Taehyung asked again, looking a little confused, "...but I thought the guys said that you're my...you know..." 

"In the past tense, yes, we were just housemates...but over time we developed a special relationship." -Joohyun gleamed, "It's a beautiful one. I know it's a little hard for you to comprehend everything right now so we'll get into that later, alright? One step at a time. No worries." -she fondly pinched Taehyung's cheeks, unintentionally startling him with her action. 

"Uhm..." -Taehyung chuckled, awkwardly moving away from her hand, "Was that kind of stuff normal between us?" -he asked as he lightly rubbed his cheeks, feeling flustered getting touched that way by someone he doesn't even know.

"It's a habit." -Joohyun answered him with a nonchalant shrug then said, "We do that to each other all the time. Well, to be more precise...cheek-pinching is kinda my thing. You're more of a biter. You'd always bite my cheeks with your lips. I like it, though." -she chuckled, "You were being cute, anyway...I just can't resist it...so..."

Taehyung instantly turned beetroot red at Joohyun's forthright compliment, feeling a little embarrassed that the beautiful stranger was candidly flirting with him in ways that were making his heart race.  Even though his friends had told him who Bae Joohyun was back at the hospital, it was still a little hard for him to believe their words, entirely. He couldn't bring himself to believe that his relationship with Min Ha Na was already over a long while ago and that he now has a new girlfriend whose beauty is beyond compare. 

Having these fluttery emotions towards Bae Joohyun while believing that he was still in a relationship with Min Ha Na felt morally wrong but sinfully pleasing.

"Let's settle you in, shall we?" -Joohyun said, casually taking his hand into hers as they walked into the house. "I used to think that your strange obsession over taking and keeping pictures of every happenings around this house was absurd but now I'm beyond thankful that you've kept them all. The doctor said that looking back at photographs could help you regain the memories you've lost." -she said as she points out at photographs of herself and Taehyung framed up on the wall. "There should be more personal ones in your room for you to see, later on."

"Were we really this close?" -Taehyung furrowed his eyebrows as he stopped and looked at a photograph of himself, pressing his lips hard against the cheeks of an annoyed-looking Bae Joohyun.

"Yes." -Joohyun smiled, "This was the day you bought a new film camera and wanted to test your new toy out. I was clearly not in the mood at the time as you can see from my expression. I hated this photo but you said you liked it so...I just had to frame it up."

"Why do we have paint all over our faces in this one?" -Taehyung pointed out to another framed photograph on the wall, looking absolutely fascinated by the picture he took, himself. "This looks interesting."

"Oh, this was back during the days where we were still learning to get along with each other. It was the day I learned that painting was your favourite pastime. You were embarrassed to admit it, at first. Oh right, you thought that painting could help us get closer so...we spent that weekend together doing art." -Joohyun chuckled as she recalled the earlier days when they were just beginning to discover their feelings towards each other.
"Then we got a little playful and started splattering paint at each other. It was a fun day. You told me that this photograph was your favourite too."

Although a little confused, Taehyung felt so content when he gazed at all of the photographs hanged up on the walls in their house. There was something about the beautiful smiles and frowns of Joohyun's captured in the photographs that were giving him a good feeling on the inside. However, it frustrated him that not a single flashback or even a glimpse of memory about the photos crossed his mind when Joohyun elaborated about them. He really wanted to believe that she was who everyone has been claiming her to be but he still just couldn't.

"Why can't I remember you...?"-He muttered to himself, massaging the bridge of his nose when his mind began to get blurry, causing him to feel dizzy.

"Hey..." -Joohyun said, pulling his chin towards her so she could look at him in the eye, "Is everything alright?"

For some reason, staring at Bae Joohyun's face somehow helped Taehyung calm his thoughts down. However, he couldn't help feeling a rush of heat creeping through his face whenever their gazes locked. His heart paced rapidly when Joohyun placed her hands on his jawline, lightly brushing her thumb against his cheeks as she kept her soft gaze on him. Immediately pushing her hand down and turning away from her, Taehyung cleared his throat and tried to brush off the awkward, incomprehensible feeling he was experiencing in his heart.

"Taehyung...? A-Are you okay?" -Joohyun asked, a little taken aback by his actions.

"Yea, I'm good..." -Taehyung said, this time the palm of his hand against his chest as if he was relieving himself from a pain.

"Can I get you a glass of water?" -Joohyun asked, looking a little concerned at his behaviour.

"I doubt that would be of any help but sure, why not..." -Taehyung said, avoiding her gaze at all cost, "I could use a glass of water."

"If you're wondering why the flowers are dead, it's because I've spent almost a week at the hospital with you and I haven't had the time to replace them with the new ones. I'll get around to it when I have the time." -She said, walking towards him with his drink, "Here. Drink up."

"Thanks." -Taehyung took the glass out of her hands then chugged the water down in just a few gulps.

"Wow...you must be really thirsty." -Joohyun chuckled, naturally reaching her hand for his head to ruffle his hair, "I should've offered you a drink before I went to blabber on and on about the photographs. I'm sorry, baby."

"B-Baby?" -Taehyung stammered his words,  nervously. "Already?"

"I know. Cringy, isn't it?" -She laughed, "Well you were the one who started with the nicknames. I just started saying it out of habit." 

"No, no, no. I don't actually have a problem with it." -Taehyung immediately said, "It's just...weird because...we've just met and this is all going a little too fast. D-Do I call you baby too...or...umm...?"

"You know what..."-Joohyun lets out a soft sigh before she forced a smile on her face. "Let's just address each other by our names at least until your memories come back. I really don't want to be creeping you out."

"Okay..." 

"But, Taehyung..." -Joohyun took a few steps closer towards him, "There's something I've been wanting to do to you since you woke up at the hospital but I didn't do it because I didn't want to scare you out...but I think I might just...die...if I don't do it, right now. So...umm...would you please let me do it? Just this once. Please don't freak out."

"Uh..." -he nervously chuckled as he scratched the back of his head, "I wouldn't want anyone to die because of me so...I mean...as long as it wouldn't hurt me, I guess it's  -"

Before Taehyung could even finish his words, Joohyun immediately threw herself into his embrace, hugging him as tight as she could as she wrapped her arms around his waist. As much as was choking and her tears were threatening to roll down her cheeks, she resisted herself from breaking down as hard as she could because she knew that crying could only confuse and overwhelm Taehyung further. From the moment he stepped into the house, she had noticed how clueless and afraid he looked but she was heartened by the fact that he was trying his best to hide it. However, it saddened her how uncomfortable Taehyung seemed to be, walking around the house that used to be his safe place. 

'It must be so hard for you...' -Joohyun thought.

"Woah there..." -Taehyung gasped, caught off-guard by the hug he was receiving, at the moment. He was being very mindful not to let his hands touch her body but somehow his heart was urging him to hug her back. "What's this hug for?"

"It's for me. I needed this." -Joohyun's voice trembled as she speaks, "Taehyung, I know you've lost all of your memories about us......but I just want to know that I'm glad that you chose to come home with me. I'm just so glad that you're here, right now and that I didn't lose you, Kim Taehyung. Thank you so much for staying alive."

"Uh...you're welcome, I guess...?"-he hesitantly said, awkwardly patting her back and looked down to check if she was okay, "H-Hey, if I let you hug me for a little while more, can we go visit Jungkook, later on?"

"Yes." -Joohyun smiled and nodded, "Of course, we can."

<<------>> 

As promised that evening, Joohyun brought Taehyung to visit his best friend, Jungkook in the shared apartment he was living in with her friend, Yerim. Among his friends who had come over to visit him at the hospital, Jungkook was the only person who has yet to meet Taehyung, ever since he woke up from the accident and he has been constantly asking if Jungkook was alright or if he could be discharged early so he could meet him. Knowing Kim Taehyung, Joohyun knew that he probably wanted to be around the person he really trusts now that he was overwhelmed with confusion.

Taehyung's attachment towards Jungkook was unsurprising to Joohyun since she was aware of how close the two of them were as friends as well as workmates. When Joohyun enlightened Taehyung about Jungkook's distressing condition, she knew that he would want to visit his best friend as soon as possible.

When they arrived at Jungkook and Yerim's shared apartment, Taehyung seemed a little confused and doubtful, not knowing if Joohyun had really brought him to the right location. He was a little curious when a lady he met at the hospital before, greeted them at the door and welcomed them in but he didn't bother to question who she was. Instead, he immediately asked where his friend was and hastily made his way towards the room the lady pointed at without another word, leaving Joohyun behind.

"Look at how eager he is to meet his best friend. I'm right here and he doesn't even know who I am." -Joohyun sighed, "Can you believe it? He had just returned home from the hospital and the first person he requested to see was Jeon Jungkook."

"Tell me about it. Jungkook has been asking about Taehyung too for the past few days. They are inseparable, aren't they?" -Yerim said, walking Joohyun to the living room as they talked, "They should just start dating each other, at this point. Anyway...has Taehyung showed any signs of improvements yet?"

"Of course, not." -Joohyun said, dropping herself on the sofa, hopelessly, "I showed him a few photos then he started acting a little funny but...that was it. He still couldn't remember anything yet. How has Jungkook been doing? Have you told him about Taehyung's condition?"

"He's not allowed to drive until the doctor says so. He doesn't really want to go out much 'cause a car honk could freak him out real bad...and yea, I did tell him about his buddy." -Yerim took the seat next to Joohyun and slouched back against the sofa. "Apparently, he got emotional. He actually cried when I told him that Taehyung couldn't recognize us."

"Really? Wow..."- Joohyun said, "I never knew Jungkook was that sensitive. I wonder what they're doing in the room." -she lowered her head so she could rest against Yerim's shoulder. "They seem so quiet. It's not like them to get this quiet whenever they meet each other."

"Right. Are you expecting a traumatized man and his friend who doesn't have a clue about anything apart from his life six years ago, to laugh and joke around after freshly surviving a crazy accident? I don't think so."

Meanwhile in Jungkook's room...

"Hyung!" -Jungkook exclaimed, surprised when Taehyung entered his room and quickly closed the door shut.

"No. Don't move. Just stay right there." -Taehyung immediately said just as Jungkook was about to get out of bed to greet him. "I heard about you. Are you okay? Namjoon told me you couldn't step out of the house after the accident...and...that was why you didn't come to visit me. Is that true?"  -he asked, casually climbing up on Jungkook's bed and made himself comfortable beside his friend. 

"Apparently so..." -Jungkook sighed, hugging onto a pillow as he rested his head against the bed frame. "I'm alright, though. It's just...the flashback from the accident is haunting me. Everything happened so fast but I could remember it vividly. How that truck skidded towards us. The lights...the crash. It's terrifying. I'm surprised that you're alright."

"Actually, I didn't know that we were involved in an accident. I didn't even know that we were all on a road trip." -Taehyung said in a frustrated tone, looking absolutely confused. "When I woke up at the hospital, I was told that we got hit by a flatbed truck while we were on a road trip. Afterwards, I learned that the accident took half of my recent memories away. I don't feel like I've forgotten anything at all but...the doctor diagnosed me with amnesia. Since then,  everything that is happening around me has been really weird, lately and I guess I'm going to have to start believing that I may have forgotten some things I should've remembered. I don't know..."

For a person who was thrown out of the jeep and survived, Kim Taehyung seemed to be acting a little too fine as if the accident was not affecting him as much as it d