Walking down the streets with the subject of every conversation in town wasn’t Kihyun’s favorite activity. Everyone kept turning their heads towards them and whispered among themselves, sometimes even pointing fingers at the stranger. I.M didn’t seem thrilled about it either. It was already too much having to grab onto his pants for them not to fall even with no one around. The receptionist felt a little bad about giving him Jooheon’s clothes but it couldn’t be helped now, so he just decided to take the bull by its horns.

“Hey, I.M, would you mind if we stop by to get some groceries?” he turned to the other, who looked at him with wide eyes, ready to disappear at any minute.

“W-what? Why?” he kinda whined again, looking like a little kid. At first, Kihyun had thought I.M was his age or older even, but he wasn’t so sure anymore. “I’m sorry” he said after realizing how he had sounded. “Let’s go, I’ll help you” he smiled softly.

“Don’t worry, we’ll get you a belt” the receptionist laughed with adoration, placing his hand on his shoulder to guide him.

They walked a few more blocks, reaching the local market, where the shushed talk increased remarkably. Any other day of the year, Kihyun would’ve ran away like I.M probably wanted to but it didn’t feel right this time. So, he straightened up his back and dragged the boy along with him, greeting every owner of the stalls they stopped at and introducing shamelessly the stranger just to see their startled faces.

In a town like that, no one would ever say things if not behind their backs; shoving I.M to their faces was as satisfying as ever. And after a few people, the outsider seemed to gain more and more confidence -specially when he got him a belt. He even asked him how to greet people in Korean and, though it was a little messy, the sound of his crooked attempt of the language was adorable.

The moment they got out of there, there was at least four bags on each of their hands because of visiting so many merchants and their breaths were ragged. I.M looked up at his caretaker and smiled, something that made the latter’s chest fill with joy.

“You did it on purpose, didn’t you?” the young man asked.

“Did what?” the receptionist acted obliviously, glancing to the other side.

“Thank you” he heard the foreigner say.

“Let’s go, we still have to make lunch” Kihyun told him after sighing nonchalantly.

I.M shifted uncomfortably on his seat, grabbing one of his arms tightly while biting the inside of his cheeks. They were back at the receptionist’s home and Jooheon wouldn’t take his piercing stare off of the intruder. Contrary to the promise to his brother, the teenager hadn’t been really nice to the stranger. As soon as the two had arrived, he had squeezed I.M’s hand too hard and barely spoken to him before retreating to his bedroom. Kihyun had rolled his eyes at that and just apologized to then show him the place and give him some clothes which would actually fit. The outsider had relaxed a bit after that, watching his savior cook and occasionally answering his questions and helping him in his task.

He liked Kihyun, he was different, he didn’t feel judged around him.

However, the problem returned when Jooheon sat on the couch facing him and burning his forehead with his eyes.

“Jooheon-ah, can you set up the table?” Kihyun called out and turned to the foreigner. “Here, try to use this” he ordered, handing him a couple of chopsticks after showing him how to handle them. Luckily, he seemed to know how to do it. The doctor had said his procedural memory hadn’t been lost so his previous abilities would still be there, and the man saw it as an opportunity to find out things about himself. “Great!” I.M was pulled out of his thoughts by the other’s voice, noticing the wide smile he was giving him. He felt his breath hitch all of a sudden, starting to cough as a reflex and feeling Kihyun’s hand patting his back. “Wow, are you okay?” the other asked worried when he calmed down. I.M simply nodded.

If he thought Jooheon’s stare couldn’t get darker, he was wrong.

Kihyun finished cooking and turned to place the hot stew in the middle of the kitchen island where they always ate -being only two people, buying a table seemed like a waste.

He decided to just ignore the way his younger brother looked at the outsider, he knew Jooheon would probably calm down after a while and, as long as he didn’t harass the other, he would just let him be.

“Thank you” I.M mumbled when he handed him his ration, waiting gently for the homeowners to start eating before digging in.

“I’m not a very good cook so I hope it’s not too bad” the receptionist said after a few minutes of silence where only Jooheon’s slurping was heard.

“It’s really good” the man shyly assured, making Kihyun smile again.

“Thanks”

A sudden noise interrupted the atmosphere, the youngest had placed his bowl hardly on the surface and was currently wiping the corners of his mouth.

“I’m going to Soonyoung’s” he grumbled, getting up from his place and starting to walk towards the door after grabbing his backpack.

“Yah! Have some manners, we haven’t even finished” his brother yelled in a severe tone, though it was ignored and answered with a door slam. “Aish...” he hissed, not even bothering to go behind him. “Sorry about that” he told the outsider after a few seconds, who was probably really confused because of the language barrier. “He’s usually nicer, he’s just...”

“It’s okay, I get it” I.M smiled bitterly. It was already pretty bad not knowing who he was and it felt as if people were blaming him for something unforgivable. “I wouldn’t be really welcoming if a stranger came to my house either, I guess”

Kihyun saw how the other lowered his head to keep on eating.

“I.M, can I ask you something?” he gently asked and took the silence as his queue. “How does it feel? I mean, not remembering anything”

The stranger lowered his spoon and stared at his dish before speaking.

“I don’t know” he chuckled a bit numbly. “I don’t remember what it was like to actually know and recognize things to even compare! I don’t know where I’m standing nor where I came from, I don’t even know what I’m supposed to do. It just feels... empty” he trailed off with a shrug.

“It sounds awful”

“Yeah...”

I.M felt the other’s hand over his, making him look up.

“Even though you’ll get therapy, I want you to know you can trust me and rely on me” Kihyun said, staring right into his eyes. “At least while we try to find your identity”

“Thank you, Kihyun” he answered, squeezing his hand a little. “Really, for everything”

“No need to thank me” he smiled sweetly.

The hotel felt excruciating that morning.

It was the first time Kihyun was actually dreading being inside his workplace. He felt accused, as if saving a man’s life was a crime. However, he knew deep down this wasn’t the real reason of their attitudes. He wasn’t new at being in the town’s spotlight after all, and apparently his previous crimes still chased him.

His boss had called him the day before, asking him to meet him in his office at the beginning of his shift to talk about how they would handle his situation. He knew Jihoon, and had a really good relationship with him, so it wasn’t his support what concerned him. What did was the fact that he had to step aside from his routine and keep on taking everyone’s disapproval again. The day before he had been running on adrenaline and instinct so he hadn’t really minded, but now that things where falling into place he felt sick. He felt his peaceful life slipping through his fingers by just noticing the glances and the whispers.

Being in the public eye wasn’t his favorite activity, it only seemed to bring unwanted attention and control.

Still, he was a strong person, so he just threw his thoughts out of the window and pretended everything was okay.

“Kihyun-ah” a voice startled him. “Come in” his boss said with a small smile on his lips before retreating to his office and leaving the door open. The receptionist obeyed and shut it behind himself just as his superior started talking. “So, Hyungwon told me you have been named caretaker of the... new member of our community” Kihyun held himself, flinching at the tone his boss had used to refer to I.M.

“Yes, it turned out to be this way” he answered. “That’s the reason why I couldn’t attend my shift yesterday”

“I know, it’s okay” Jihoon calmed him down, noticing how stiff he was. “You’re my best employee, everyone knows that” he complimented, pacing around behind his desk. “So I’ll give you a week to settle things down and I won’t discount them from your paycheck” the man concluded, joining his hands and smiling at him again when his footsteps came to a halt.

“Thank you so much, hyung” Kihyun bowed deeply in gratitude. “I promise I’ll do my best when I get back”

“I don’t doubt it” his boss said, chuckling a bit. “You may leave now. You must have a lot of things to do”

“Thank you” he bowed again and started walking towards the exit.

“Oh, and Kihyun-ah” the other’s voice made him turn around briefly. “Be careful, I don’t want your reputation to be stained again”

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