7 :  m i n d g a m e s

Time check: 11:26 AM. In about four minutes, Lee Sora would walk into the conference room and begin the meeting. Ever since she had taken over Monteview Stay Resort's Jejudo branch eight years back, she had made it a point to conduct monthly meetings with the stakeholders of the resort to analyse their progress. She took pride in being the resort's CEO in South Korea and was determined to fill the shoes her parents had left behind for both her and her little brother. Lee Hyukjae, on the other hand, only attended meetings because he was obligated to. He could care less about being dubbed one of the company's two CEOs, considering that he had little to no interest in the business and had only been given the title because he was the son of its original owners, therefore making him an heir to the throne by default. Besides, he ran his own line of cosmetics and was sure that that alone was enough to sustain him financially. He neither needed nor wanted the added burden of overseeing the family business, to be honest. Thank goodness for Sora, he thought.

A pair of men dressed in identical grey business suits entered the room, filling two seats at the big, oval table. Hyukjae observed their every move; to be completely honest he was bored out of his wits and wanted the meeting to be over and done with so he could continue wallowing over what had happened the previous night. His mind was in turmoil, to say the very least. On one hand, he was glad that Donghae, drunk Donghae, could remember that he loved him. He recalled how hearing Donghae's gentle voice proclaim his love  for him gave him a tiny glimmer of hope that maybe, just maybe, the flame they once shared could be rekindled once again. On the other hand, finding out that sober Donghae had no recollection of what he'd said or done the previous night, hurt. He hated himself for not being able to hide the fact that it hurt him, but he knew better than to blame Donghae for forgetting him. It wasn't his fault. Instead, he should be grateful they found each other after years of being apart, and almost losing all hope. He sighed.

Just then, the door of the conference room swung open and in walked Sora, clad in her signature grey overcoat, a black dress and tall, black stilettos. Her heels clicked against the floorboards as she strut towards her place at the front end of the table. Hyukjae watched as his sister fumbled with wires, connecting them to her laptop which, in reaction, projected an image onto the screen behind her. She glanced at Hyukjae, smiling, before turning to the rest of the people in the room, taking a seat.

"Good morning, everyone. Thank you for setting aside time to attend this meeting today," she began calmly, looking each and every executive directly in the eye. "Our agenda for today will be to discuss marketing skills that will help generate a growth in our revenue. With the help of our market data researchers, I was able to gather both qualitative and quantitative data about our customers and..."

Hyukjae's eyes began to lose focus as thoughts of what had happened the previous night began to replay in his mind, drowning out the noise around him. He looked at his wrist longingly, the ghost of Donghae's touch still fresh in his memory. Stay, Donghae had whispered, I've waited so many years to have you. Hyukjae closed his eyes, letting his mind take control. The memory of how Donghae had s his arm across his chest and planted soft kisses along his jawline and cheek sent chills down his spine, the hairs on the back of his neck standing in response. A physical ache began to manifest in his chest. Why don't I feel happy? He asked himself, frowning. I found him. I finally found him. He even told me he loves me. What more do I want?

The man tried his best to readjust his focus and pay attention to the meeting, failing each and every time he tried. Not knowing what to do next bothered him so much that he had subconsciously begun to bite his nails, anxious. Images of Donghae lying next to him, touching him, and straddling him even, kept flashing through his mind, over and over. You know what to do, Donghae had purred, his voice echoing in his head repetitively. You know what to do.

You know what to do.

You know what to do.

You know what to do.

"...might work best. What do you think, Hyukjae?"

You know what to do.

"Hyukjae?"

Silence.

You know what to do.

"Hyukjae."

"Huh?"

All eyes were on him. Hyukjae rubbed his face, smiling thinly.

"I mean, yeah," he replied sheepishly, trying as best as possible to sound composed. "Whatever's best for the company."

Sora rolled her eyes.

"Alright," she said, pressing her clicker. "Then let's move on to the next segment of today's meeting."

"Tell me what's wrong." Sora closed the door behind her and turned around, folding her arms. She eyed her brother like a hawk, waiting.

The meeting had ended ten minutes ago, and everyone had filed out of the room as soon as it had wrapped up; everyone, except the two siblings. Sora began to pace up and down at the front of the room in silence. She watched as Hyukjae shifted uncomfortably in his seat, unsure of what to say. Hyukjae hung his head, looking defeated.

"You can't hide anything from me, Hyukjae."

Sora walked towards her brother slowly, pulling out the chair next to him. She sat down.

"I know something's bothering you," she said softly. "You're never the type to zone out during business meetings, even if they don't interest you."

She touched her brother's shoulder reassuringly.

"You know you can tell me anything, right?"

"I.. I know," Hyukjae replied, his voice small. "And I know it was unprofessional of me to, uh, not be paying attention. I'm sorry."

Sora shook her head.

"Don't apologise. It's nothing big," she reassured. "I'm more concerned about you. What's wrong?"

Hyukjae swivelled in his chair. He looked at his sister, contemplating whether or not to confide in her. He heaved a deep sigh.

"Well," he started, relenting. "Do you remember how.. how I once told you that.. I—"

He pursed his lips.

"—I fell in love with a boy?"

Sora sighed in relief. She grabbed her brother's hand, squeezing it gently.

"Of course I remember!" She exclaimed, beaming. "That was years ago. Y'know, even if you hadn't come clean with me about your uality, I'd have found out somehow. I mean, I find out everything, like the time I found out you—"

"Noona."

"—broke Eomma's vase and tried to—"

"Noona, you're not listening!"

Sora froze, pressing her lips together tightly.

"Right," she murmured, embarassed at how she'd gotten carried away. "Sorry. You were saying?"

Hyukjae slumped into his chair, frowning.

"He's back."

"Huh?" Sora contorted her expression in confusion. "Who's back?"

"The boy. The boy is back."

"Was he ever gone?"

Hyukjae grabbed his sister by the shoulders, his eyes growing three sizes.

"Yes, yes he was! We lost contact when I went to America seven years ago."

He paused, swallowing.

"But I found him, noona. I found him."

Sora stared at Hyukjae in confusion. She didn't understand anything the man was saying. She waited for Hyukjae to explain.

"Do you remember the man I was talking to when we visited Jeongbang waterfall the other day?"

Hyukjae glared expectantly. Sora, on the other hand, tried her best to recall what the man Hyukjae had been speaking to looked like. She vaguely remembered him having brown hair and slightly tanned skin, and above all, he was pretty good-looking, at least to her.

"Yes, I do." Sora smiled. "Although I don't remember you ever telling me whether he liked you back."

Picking up the pen on the table, Hyukjae began to spin it in between his fingers.

"He did," he whispered. "I mean, he does, but—"

Sora leanded forward. "But....?"

"He doesn't remember me."

"What do you mean he doesn't remember you?"

Dropping the pen, Hyukjae rested his chin on the palm of his hand, sighing again. He could've sworn that was at least the tenth time he'd sighed that day.

"It's complicated, noona," he explained. "Basically, one day he stopped writing to me, returning my calls; everything. Turns out he'd gotten into an accident that wiped away most of his memory while I was in America. I only found out because a mutual friend of ours forwarded a news report about the accident to me."

Hyukjae retrieved a folded piece of paper from his wallet, handing it to Sora.

"This is the article," he added, watching as Sora unfolded the piece of paper and began reading.

With each word that she read, Sora's eyes grew wider. She gaped, looking from Hyukjae, to the article, and then back at Hyukjae.

"I carry it with me no matter where I go," Hyukjae stated, ignoring his sister's expression. "I used to use it to ask people if they knew about the whereabouts of the boy in the article. I guess I don't need it anymore, now that I've found him."

Leaning back in her chair, Sora folded the paper and placed it on the table. A million questions raced through her mind.

"How did you find him after all these years, then?"

Hyukjae smirked.

"I got lucky, I guess," he chuckled. "When you told me to come to Jejudo to oversee the resort's operations with you, I decided to search for a place to stay at. I didn't wanna stay at my bungalow because it has his face; our memories; plastered everywhere and honestly, at that point, I had already lost all hope of ever finding him again. Ironically, his profile was one of the first few things that came up on Airbnb when I searched for a place to rent here. Felt like a dream, to be honest."

Sora scratched her head. She struggled to piece the puzzle together.

"How did you know he was at the waterfall that day, then?"

Hyukjae began to fiddle with his phone for a few seconds, before showing it to Sora. On the screen, there was a picture of a rustic-looking living room, followed by information on the owner of said house and the house itself. She recognised the man in the profile picture of the owner of the house; it was definitely the man that she'd seen Hyukjae talking to several days before at the waterfall. She scrolled through the information, pausing at a section titled "Interaction with Guests" and began to read:

I'd be more than happy to bring you around and give you a free and easy tour of Jejudo if you'd like. One of my most favourite places to be at in Jejudo, specifically Seogwipo, is Jeongbang waterfalls. I spend most of my time there. It's a walkable distance from my house and I'd highly recommend it to those of you who love nature or simply want to have a break surrounded by nothing but the sounds and views of nature. However, if you'd prefer little to no interaction/more privacy, I'd be more than happy to abide! Let me know your preferences.

"Oh," Sora mumbled, handing the phone back to Hyukjae.

Hyukjae slipped the phone into the pocket of his blazer and smiled a faint smile.

"Yesterday, he professed his love for me." He looked at Sora. "Drunk."

Sora widened her eyes in surprise.

"You went drinking?"

Hyukjae shook his head.

"Nope. According to him, he'd gone drinking with his best friend. He turned up at the bungalow at nearly three in the morning, drunk. That's when he professed."

Finally being able to make sense of the overload of information that her younger brother had just regurgitated onto her, Sora nodded slowly, her expression determined.

"Hyukjae," she started firmly, "you need to make him remember somehow. You need to find out how much of you he remembers, sober or not. No point fretting over it and not doing anything about it."

"Yeah, but how?" Hyukjae raised his brows, biting his lip.

Sora grabbed Hyukjae's hand once more, squeezing it.

"Get him drunk if you have to. Find his best friend. Do whatever it takes."

A look of hope washed over Hyukjae's face.

"You know what, noona," he said calmly. "You're right. I need to make him remember."

"Exactly, " Sora agreed. "And find out what the man's best friend knows about the whole situation. Seems to me he's the best person to approach. Oh, and wait a minute; this best friend of his; do you know how long he's known the man?"

Hyukjae nodded.

"They were best friends long before I knew Donghae. They'd been friends since the age of fourteen."

"Huh..." Sora thought aloud. "How did Donghae remember him then?"

Hyukjae frowned.

"Good question."

The pair of siblings stared at each other, both silence and a ton of invisible questions filling the spaces in between them.

"Whatever it is," Hyukjae began, breaking the silence, "I have to do something. Thank you, noona."

Hyukjae kissed his older sister on the cheek, standing up. He pulled on the lapels of his blazer, adjusting it. Sora, on the other hand, remained seated, smiling to herself.

"Oh yeah, Hyukjae ah," Sora called out just as Hyukjae was about to exit the room. "I hope you don't mind if I kept the article."

She picked up the folded piece of paper that she had left on the table.

"I wanna find out more about this man. Who knows; maybe I could find someone, some sort of professional or something, that could help jolt his memories back to life."

Hyukjae nodded before disappearing past the door.

That night, Sora stood by the window of her bedroom, holding the piece of paper in one hand and her phone in the other. Her eyes glossed over the words in the article over and over as she waited for her call to be picked up. After several rings, the line clicked and a man's voice greeted her.

"Hello?" It said.

"Hey," she uttered, sounding desperate. "We have a problem."