He slowly opened his eyes, trying to adjust to the brightness surrounding him. It was a blur of lights initially, but as his eyesight adjusted, all he saw was a white ceiling. Eyes roaming around, he caught sight of white walls, curtains, sheets, everything stainless white. What looked out of place was the man sitting on a chair in front of his bed, arms folded across his chest, dozing away. However, with the man’s head lowered and his fringe blocking his face, it was impossible to identify him.

 

He tried to move his fingers, but it just resulted in a twitch. It was that feeling you experience when you fall into a deep sleep, and your body doesn’t move throughout the night, that stiff feeling. Unsure of his current situation, of how he ended up in this room and why his body was feeling so rigid, he tried to call out for the man in front of him. But all that came out from his lips was a croak, causing him to realise how parched his throat was.

 

The sudden sound in the room seemed to rouse the stranger from his sleep, as he slowly lifted his head up and with groggy eyes, looked around to find the source of the sound. As soon as his eyes met the ones who was lying in bed, they widened in surprise, mouth opened and gaping like a fish out of water, but not saying anything. Without a word, the man ran out of the room, with shouts of “Nurse, nurse! Baekhyun’s awake!” echoing down the corridors and into the room.

 

Nurse? Why am I in the hospital? Baekhyun tried to conjure any memory that caused him to end up there, but failed to do so. The last thing he could remember was sitting at his bedroom study table, cramming for his finals the next day. He could also remember settling himself in his own bed before having a good night’s rest, so how did he end up in a hospital?

 

As Baekhyun was struggling with his internal conflict, 2 people walked into the room. one of them he could identify as a doctor from the white coat, the other most probably the man sleeping on the chair a few minutes prior. However, his face looked a little familiar, maybe an acquaintance from school? This man then situated himself beside Baekhyun, poured a glass of water from the jug at the bedside table, helped Baekhyun sit upright in bed and assisted in feeding him water. Although thankful for the water and help, Baekhyun was also feeling slight discomfort at a stranger being kind to him.

 

“Mr Park? How are you feeling?” The doctor looked at Baekhyun and asked, at the same time taking out a pen torch and flashing it into his eyes one at a time, to check for any abnormalities. But from what he knows, he hasn’t changed his last name to Park, so he shoots back a confused look to the doctor. Despite his throat hurting, he managed to croak out, “I’m Byun Baekhyun, doctor. Are you holding the records of the wrong patient?”

 

With this question, the 2 other people in the room looked at each other shocked, especially the one with the familiar face. The doctor quickly composed himself, and continued to ask him the routine questions, “I apologise, Mr Byun. So, as per formalities, can you tell me your name, age and the date?”

 

“I’m Byun Baekhyun, 22 this year and… I’m not really sure about the date but I guess it’s around early November?”

 

The doctor hummed and nodded, quickly scribbling onto the board he was holding.

“Can anyone care to tell me what’s going on though? I remember I was cramming for a test before going to sleep and now I’m in the hospital?”

 

Baekhyun demanded for answers, not wanting to continue being kept in the dark regarding his situation.

 

The doctor shot a look at the man standing beside Baekhyun. Somehow, a look of pain and shock flashed across the man’s face when Baekhyun answered the doctor, as if he was about to cry out. Regardless, the man still nodded, as if the 2 of them communicated through telepathy, and walked out of the room, closing the door behind him to give the doctor and Baekhyun some privacy. Before the man completely stepped out of the room, Baekhyun saw the man bring his hand up to his face and wipe it. Was he crying?

 

The doctor turned back to Baekhyun and was that pity in his eyes?

 

“I’m sorry I forgot to introduce myself, Mr Byun. I’m Dr Kim Junmyeon, and I’ve been your doctor-in-charge for the past 4 months. Now I know you have a lot of questions running through your head, and I can only answer them to my capacity. For now, I can tell you that I suspect that you’re suffering from amnesia.”

 

At the word ‘amnesia’, it got Baekhyun panicking and breaking down on the inside. Amnesia? How is this possible? How much exactly have I forgotten? And is the man waiting outside related to me?

 

Sensing Baekhyun’s inner panic, Dr Kim cleared his throat to gain Baekhyun’s attention once more, and continued.

 

“Your name is Byun Baekhyun, but to be more precise, you’re now known as Park-Byun Baekhyun. You’re married to Park Chanyeol, the man who was with us a moment ago. Also, it’s the 8th of August now and you’re 25 this year, meaning you’ve lost around 3 years’ worth of memories. 4 months ago, you were in a severe car accident, which caused you to be comatose. Regarding your memories, more tests and further observation are needed to conclude whether your memory loss is temporary or permanent. Now I’ll leave you alone with your husband, I’m sure he’ll be more than happy to answer all your questions.”

 

With that, Mr Kim left the room, leaving behind a Baekhyun who was on the verge of a mental breakdown. 3 years’ worth of memories gone? And I’m actually married? And the name Park Chanyeol sounds so damn familiar, was he someone I knew? Argh, can this all just be a bad dream?

 

Baekhyun shut his eyes tightly, trying to wish away his current reality, hoping that when he opened his eyes once more, he would be back in his own bedroom, snuggled beneath his blankets.

 

The sound of approaching footsteps snapped Baekhyun out of his thoughts, and he opened his eyes, only to see the man, known as his husband, standing right beside him. Finally, Baekhyun managed to have a good and close look at the man called Chanyeol. The first thought he had was ‘Wow, this man is really handsome. How did I manage to snatch such a guy?’ and it slowly morphed to ‘, this man is so handsome how is it possible that I’m married to him?’

 

Big almond-shaped eyes encasing dark brown pupils, Baekhyun could see his reflection as he stared into those pair of eyes. Nose pointed and cherry lips plump and full, there was no denying that the man in front of him was the epitome of handsomeness. What exactly did this man see in me? Baekhyun thought.

 

Chanyeol suddenly clasping his hands broke Baekhyun’s reverie. Tears started to form at the corners of Chanyeol’s eyes, and when he spoke, his voice was on the verge of breaking.

 

“Baekhyun, don’t you remember me? It’s Chanyeol. Your Chanyeol.” He then brought Baekhyun’s hand to his cheek, feeling the familiar sensation of Baekhyun’s warm palm caressing his cheek. Somehow, Chanyeol’s grasp felt so warm and familiar, he swore his heart fluttered a little.

 

Not wanting to lie to the heartbroken man, Baekhyun shook his head and avoided all eye contact, taking his hand back from Chanyeol’s grasp. Despite knowing the fact that this man is actually his husband, it did not sit well with him that someone, whom he totally did not know about, initiated such intimate physical contact.

 

Upon Baekhyun’s reaction, a couple of teardrops escaped Chanyeol’s eyes and he wiped them off with the back of his palm almost instantly. Chanyeol did not probe anymore, and instead chose to leave the room, leaving behind a guilty Baekhyun.

 

  

It was only about a week later that Baekhyun was given the clear to be discharged from the hospital. There is a chance that his memories return, the doctor explained before his discharge, but there is also a chance that his memory loss is permanent.

 

During that week Baekhyun was in the hospital, he and Chanyeol barely exchanged any conversation, afraid to trigger any unwanted topics. Meanwhile, Baekhyun’s parents visited him, and they updated him on how much he missed during his 4 months in coma, as well as fill in some of the gaps of his 3-year memory loss. Also, Baekhyun’s best friends from university, Kyungsoo and Jongin, paid several visits. Baekhyun remembered the 2 of them constantly giving each other shy looks and denying their feelings for each other but fast forward 3 years, the 2 of them are about to get married!

 

While it was nice to be updated on what he missed out, but at the back of his head, it was upsetting to know that these memories may never return to him, and that his only ‘memories’ of them would be the ones he conjured up after hearing those stories from a third party. Baekhyun was also feeling left out whenever happily recounted happy memories, all he could do was nod with a smile, since he would never be able to experience that happy feeling of that moment.

 

But the intriguing thing was that no one mentioned his and Chanyeol’s marriage, as if they knew it was a touchy subject. Whenever their conversation was heading toward that direction, they were fast enough to change the topic. Maybe Chanyeol mentioned to them how much Baekhyun was still in denial of their marriage.

 

In the end, no matter how much the subject of his marriage was avoided, he still had to face reality. Fast forward to the present, Baekhyun was just discharged a few hours ago and was now sitting alone on the loveseat in the middle of the living room of his and Chanyeol’s apartment. Just from his roaming eyes, Baekhyun could tell that their place was completely furnished by himself, since the furniture and theme was all to his liking. At the same time, Chanyeol was in the kitchen, preparing their lunch.

 

Baekhyun didn’t dare to move an inch as after all, it was an unfamiliar environment and it wasn’t polite to roam around someone’s house so freely. But after much thought, Baekhyun realised that it was also his own house and that he had as much authority to wander around the house.

 

Mustering whatever courage he had, Baekhyun slowly got up from his seat and started to walk towards a low wooden cabinet that was near him. Oddly, all the photo frames were facing down, hiding the photos stored in them from the world. Curious, Baekhyun decided to flip a few over, just to satisfy his curiosity. However, what the photos encased were something Baekhyun knew he would come across someday, but just not this soon. Those several photo frames held photos of Chanyeol and Baekhyun; there was a photo of the both of them in graduation gowns, standing next to each other and Baekhyun was on his toes giving Chanyeol a kiss on the cheek. Another photo had Chanyeol back hugging Baekhyun while the both of them looked into each other’s eyes, filled with love. There was also another photo of the two of them snuggled up in bed, with Chanyeol spooning Baekhyun from behind. It was most probably a candid photo taken by one of their friends who decided to barge in on their private time.

 

Looking at these few photos, there was a dull throbbing sensation at the back of Baekhyun’s head, as if these memories were coming to him. However, there was a larger photo frame that he had yet to look at. With trembling hands, Baekhyun lifted up the frame.

 

It was once again, Chanyeol and Baekhyun, but this time with a young girl, no older than 3 years old. It was the background of a park, Baekhyun could tell, and with the obvious picnic mat beneath them and the half-eaten food as seen in the photo, the 3 of them were having a picnic. Chanyeol and Baekhyun were seated cross-legged right beside each other, with the girl seated comfortably in Baekhyun’s lap. It was a photo of a happy family. Why was it that it was Baekhyun in the photo, but the photo looked so foreign to him? Who is that little girl in the picture? Baekhyun tried to recall, but as soon as he tried to do so, a sharp throb hit his head. He cried out in pain and dropped the photo frame on the ground, while he squatted down and cradled his head with his hands, trying to handle the pain.

 

Chanyeol, who was in the midst of stirring the pasta in the pan, heard a cry of pain and the sound of something hitting the floor. Sensing something terrible must have happened, he immediately stopped whatever he was doing, switched off the stove and ran out to the living room, where Baekhyun was. The sight that greeted him clenched his heart.

 

Baekhyun was on the ground, knees to his head and hands holding it, face hidden, obviously in pain. Not far from him, was the picture of the 2 of them and Minhee at the park together, one of the few pictures he had of the 3 of them together. Chanyeol had a rough idea of what had happened – Dr Kim had warned him beforehand before bringing Baekhyun home.

 

He rushed over to Baekhyun’s side, checking if he was hurt anywhere. He called out for Baekhyun, but he didn’t respond in anyway. Baekhyun’s unresponsiveness caused Chanyeol to reached out and tap his shoulder instead. Baekhyun’s head jolted upwards and as if he was broken from a trance, looked around to find the source of the touch. Upon seeing Chanyeol, he visibly relaxed.

 

“Hey, are you alright? Do you need me to call Dr Kim?”

 

“No, I’m alright. I just need more rest.”

 

Chanyeol wordlessly nodded, helped Baekhyun get onto his feet and led him to a bedroom. When Chanyeol opened the door to let him enter, Baekhyun noticed how neat the room was, but what stood out was that there was only a single bed flushed against the corner of the room.

 

“Did we not sleep on the same bed when we were married?”

 

“We did, but I think you would be uncomfortable with sharing a bed with me,” Chanyeol hesitantly replied. “This is our guestroom, I guess you would prefer your own room for now.”

 

Baekhyun hummed in reply and walked towards the bed. Chanyeol, not wanting to disturb Baekhyun’s rest time, closed the door, and returned to the kitchen, continuing his preparation for lunch. Well, I guess it’s just me for lunch then.

 

Back in the guestroom, Baekhyun laid in bed and stared at the white ceiling above him. When his head throbbed in pain earlier, after looking at the photo, he felt something coming on to him, like a memory. He could remember bits and pieces of that certain event. He could remember laughing and playing happily with Chanyeol and that small girl, he could also remember nagging at the 2 of them to keep still as they managed to get the help of a random passer-by to help them take the photo. Anything other than these 2 fragments of the memory, if Baekhyun tried to recall, his head will throb in hurt. But just from this faint memory, Baekhyun could feel that there was hope to recover the rest of the memories he had lost, and he couldn’t wait to retrieve them once again.

 

With this, Baekhyun closed his eyes and willed himself into slumber, noting to himself to ask Chanyeol more about their life after he wakes up.

 

 

When Baekhyun awoke from his nap, he noticed that his room was shrouded in darkness, the only source of light being the moonlight entering from the window beside the bed. He felt around the bed, trying to look for his handphone to check the time, but suddenly remembered he had left it on the sofa in the living room. At that instant, his stomach decided to growl out in hunger. That’s right, I haven’t eaten since yesterday. Baekhyun then had no choice but to head outside for dinner.

 

When Baekhyun stumbled into the dining room, he found himself facing a table full of his favourite dishes – soy braised chicken, green onion pancake and tofu stew. Even before he could ask aloud where did all these foods come from, Chanyeol came into view. He was wearing a blue apron, which adorned a few stains here and there, while holding a bowl of rice in each of his hands. This obviously gave away the fact that all these dishes were meticulously prepared by Chanyeol.

 

It was only after he had put down the bowls of rice onto the table when Chanyeol noticed Baekhyun’s presence in the dining room.

 

“Hey, you’re finally awake, and just in time for dinner. I prepared all your favourite food, which I hoped you missed after all that hospital food, so do eat more!”

 

Not knowing what to reply, Baekhyun simply nodded and took a seat, before hesitantly reaching out for the chopsticks to pick up some food. Chanyeol, upon seeing Baekhyun starting to dig in, took off his apron and hung it on his chair, then digging into his food as well.

 

The first 10 minutes into dinner, not a single word was exchanged. Both ate in silence, not sure as to what to talk about. Chanyeol, on the outside, didn’t seem to mind the silence as he focused on his meal and continued eating. Baekhyun, on the other hand, was extremely nervous with the thick silence present in the room.

 

After much consideration, Baekhyun decided to break the silence by asking Chanyeol about the photo he had seen earlier.

 

“Hey Chanyeol, I know that the both of us are married, but who was that little girl in the photo?”

 

At the mention of the girl, Chanyeol’s busy hands stopped whatever they were doing, he put down his chopsticks and bowl and looked at Baekhyun.

 

“Aside from the two of us in this house, there was a third. She was Minhee, a child the both of us decided to adopt a while after we got married.”

 

Sensing the unspoken question of so where is she now, Chanyeol continued.

 

“As you can see, there’s only the two of us in this apartment. Minhee isn’t here with us anymore.”

 

What happened to her? Baekhyun wanted to ask, but he sensed that the mood had become solemn and it was kind of inappropriate to ask. Baekhyun mumbled out an apology, for bringing back such unwanted memories for Chanyeol.

 

Chanyeol simply shook his head, “It’s alright. You were also her dad, you have the right to know what happened, but just not today, maybe someday.”

 

Baekhyun could only nod his head, for he didn’t want to force his curiosity onto Chanyeol, while reopening old wounds.

 

For the rest of the dinner, the two of them ate in silence; Baekhyun too afraid to bring up unwanted topics, and Chanyeol too afraid to talk about the past, in case Baekhyun remembered something unwanted. Baekhyun also never mentioned to Chanyeol that he had managed to recall fragments of that event.

 

 

The following few weeks were gruelling. Chanyeol and Baekhyun barely managed to sustain any conversation. Any attempt by either party was replied with either a single word or a short answer that the conversation ended faster than both of them intended to. There was constantly a haze of awkwardness shrouding the room, and neither knew how to overcome that. Both of them were aware that this situation shouldn’t continue, but neither knew how to break it.

 

Also, throughout those few weeks, Baekhyun didn’t have anymore episodes of him recalling any memories from the past 3 years. He had just been too afraid to ask Chanyeol, and was afraid to experience the pain he had gone through after looking at those few photos when he first moved back. Baekhyun decided that he wanted to take it slow; even if his memories don’t return, he would want to make new ones to replace them.

 

On the other hand, Baekhyun was able to get along fine with Kyungsoo and Jongin. Though feeling as if he was third-wheeling the couple, the three of them had occasionally met up for brunch, or just simply sat at a café to catch up.

 

Just from conversing with the couple, he was able to find out a little more of his past from their perspective. Apparently, Baekhyun had managed to scrape through university and graduated with second class honours. He had also met Chanyeol during their last year in school, both of them at the age of 23. They dated and got married before Baekhyun’s 24th birthday. However, around a week after their 1st wedding anniversary, the car accident happened and from the couple’s knowledge, the police ruled it as an accident due to the hazardous weather conditions.

 

Listening to Kyungsoo and Jongin talk about his life in the past 3 years, it felt so foreign yet familiar. He had been through each one of those memories physically, but he couldn’t remember them at all. This didn’t trigger any of Baekhyun’s memories to return at all, where Baekhyun was a little disappointed. From the couple’s account, he and Chanyeol seemed like a lovey-dovey couple who everyone was jealous of. But the sad reality now is that the both of them were barely speaking to each other. Also, upon hearing the cause of the car accident which had put him in a coma, it somehow didn’t sit well with Baekhyun and he wanted to find out more, but at the same time, it brought about a dreadful feeling at the bottom of his stomach.

 

 

Baekhyun was alone at home, watching television one day when an advertisement for a movie trailer appeared on the screen. It was about a young magician overcoming social norms to be together with the girl he loves, who sadly does not belong to his world. Being a er for such romantic movies, Baekhyun really wanted to watch this movie. But at the same time, he didn’t want to watch it alone. However, who could he ask?

 

Kyungsoo? He would definitely drag Jongin along and Baekhyun would just end up third-wheeling the two of them. His other university friends? He hadn’t seen them at all after he regained consciousness and he did not know if anything had happened within the 3 years, so not calling would be a safe option. After screening all the choices through his head, the only available option left would be to ask Chanyeol to accompany him.

 

At that very instant, the sound of the main door being unlocked could be heard. It was Chanyeol returning from work. Meek ‘Hi’s were exchanged before Chanyeol headed to his room to change out of his office wear, and Baekhyun’s attention returning to the television screen in front of him.

 

After a few minutes, Chanyeol emerged from the room and headed to the kitchen with the intention to prepare dinner, just like he had been doing for the past 1 year they had been married. Baekhyun then remembered that he was supposed to ask Chanyeol out to the movies.

 

Baekhyun shyly walked into the kitchen and cleared his throat, making his presence known to Chanyeol. Chanyeol was busy washing his hands at that moment and when he heard the sound of someone’s throat clearing, he turned around, directing a “Yes?” at Baekhyun.

 

Baekhyun didn’t dare to look Chanyeol in the eyes while asking the question, especially after weeks of silence.

 

“Erm so I was wondering… would you like to go to the movies with me? There’s a movie I really want to watch, but I don’t want to watch it alone. But it’s alright if you’re busy and can’t make it……”

 

Chanyeol chirped out a “Of course!” immediately after hearing the invitation, with no hesitation. It was Baekhyun asking him out. How could he say no?

Baekhyun, hearing how excitedly Chanyeol replied, heaved a sigh of relief and shot a shy smile.

 

“I’ll book tickets for this weekend then?”

 

Chanyeol nodded and Baekhyun walked back to the living room, immediately booking movie tickets for two for this weekend on his handphone.

 

Even after Baekhyun left the kitchen, Chanyeol was still fixated at his position, gazing into nowhere and lost in his thoughts. He can’t believe Baekhyun actually asked him out for a movie! Could it be that Baekhyun wants to spend time with him? Or that Baekhyun is trying to retrieve his lost memories through going out with Chanyeol? Regardless, it was still a date with his dear husband and he couldn’t wait for the weekends to come, even though it was only just Tuesday. With this, Chanyeol went back to preparing dinner, with a wide grin on his face and throbbing anticipation in his heart.

 

 

The next few days passed by in a blur, but at the same time, growing anticipation and anxiety residing in both Chanyeol and Baekhyun’s hearts.

 

The movie was previewing around lunchtime, yet Baekhyun was up and early, attempting to prepare breakfast for the both of them. Chanyeol had stayed up late the previous night to finish up some documents, to free up his weekend for Baekhyun, so while being guilty, Baekhyun decided to let him sleep in and prepare breakfast, as a form of thanks at the same time, for the company to the movies. To be honest, in the past few weeks after Baekhyun’s discharge from the hospital, all his meals were handmade by Chanyeol himself.

 

In the morning, Baekhyun would wake up to the smell of breakfast being set on the table, and he would proceed to have breakfast with Chanyeol, but of course with the both of them exchanging minimal words. For lunch, Chanyeol would pre-cook food for Baekhyun along with breakfast, and store them in the fridge in boxes of Tupperware. Baekhyun simply needed to microwave the premade food and wash the boxes after he was done. Chanyeol would always reach home from work around late afternoons, and he would promptly prepare dinner.

 

With this, Baekhyun had never needed to make any food for himself, though he deemed himself fully capable. But the truth is Baekhyun’s cooking skills are elementary, maybe even lower than elementary. Maybe this is why there was smoke being emitted from the pan, from his attempt to cook sunny side-up eggs.

 

How did Chanyeol manage to live with me during that one year of our marriage? Did he really cook for us all the time? Baekhyun thought, while panicking, trying to find a way to stop the eggs from burning.

 

“Is everything alright? Why do I smell something burning?” A deep and groggy voice came from behind Baekhyun. It was Chanyeol, who was awaked by the burning smell.

 

Baekhyun, upon hearing Chanyeol’s arrival, turned around to face him and looked at him guiltily. When he saw the burnt state the eggs had ended up in, Chanyeol sighed and took over the position in front of the pan, gently pushing Baekhyun aside.

 

After Chanyeol was done cleaning up the mess Baekhyun had unintentionally caused, he took over the job of cooking the eggs. Meanwhile, Baekhyun didn’t want to cause anymore trouble, so instead of just standing around, he went ahead to set up the table.

 

Ultimately, breakfast consisted of perfectly done sunny side-up eggs, accompanied with slightly burnt toast and sausages. It was quite obvious which food item was prepared by whom. Nonetheless, when he saw Chanyeol take a bite into a sausage, he couldn’t help but squeak out, “So how is it? Is it still edible?”

 

“It’s great,” Chanyeol commented while munching away. “I got to say I’ve never tasted such great food from you before.”

 

Not meaning to, Chanyeol had referred to the past Baekhyun. But before he could apologise for his slip-up, Baekhyun flashed him a relieved smile.

 

“I’m glad it turned out fine. Guess I got to work on my cooking skills so that you can enjoy more of my cooking, and that you won’t need to cook for me all the time?”

 

It was the first time since Baekhyun’s discharge that he had directed a smile at Chanyeol. Upon seeing the beautiful smile that he had missed so much, Chanyeol couldn’t help but smile along and nod, continuing to eat breakfast happily.

 

Although no more words were exchanged during breakfast, it was the first time the both of them ate in comfortable silence. After breakfast, the two of them changed into casual wear and Chanyeol drove them to the cinema, excitement blooming within them.

 

 

Both Chanyeol and Baekhyun had enjoyed the movie very much. Baekhyun’s nose was still red from all that sobbing after the scene where the main character sacrificed himself for love, while Chanyeol couldn’t help chuckling upon seeing Baekhyun cry at the movie.

 

For Chanyeol, it brought back memories of the two of them going for movie dates, and how Baekhyun had easily shed tears at both touching and sad scenes.

 

Hearing Baekhyun still sniffing away, out of habit, Chanyeol took out a piece of tissue from his pockets and wiped Baekhyun’s nose for him. At the loving gesture, Baekhyun was taken aback but at the same time blushed at their intimacy. Chanyeol realised what he was doing and quickly withdrew his hand. He frantically blubbered out apologies, but Baekhyun shyly giggled and without breaking eye contact, whispered out an “It’s okay”.

 

Baekhyun’s heart fluttered at the sight of Chanyeol panicking as somehow, it looked adorable in his eyes. Along with the way Chanyeol showed concern previously, Baekhyun was sure his face was red from all that blushing.

 

Chanyeol was entranced at how Baekhyun was cutely blushing, and thought of ideas to prolong this date, for he was sure things will return to normal if the both of them returned home that instant, and he really wanted to hang out with Baekhyun a little more, since it gave him more hope that the old Baekhyun may return.

 

“Hey, how about we grab a coffee or something? Not sure if you remember, but your favourite café is just ‘round the corner.”

 

Of course, Baekhyun remembered. It was his all-time favourite café since high school – he would always head there after school to either study, or simply to indulge himself in books. Guess this was something that didn’t change for the past 3 years.

 

Excited, Baekhyun nodded, fluffy ebony hair bouncing atop his head. With this, the both of them walked down the pathway, side by side, exchanging small talk and commentary about the movie they had just watched.

 

 

Fluffs and Puffs. That was the name of the café, and it’s interior certainly lived up to its name. Adorning pastel-coloured walls, there were also fairy lights hung around, with paintings of clouds on each wall. At the back of the café, there was a special wall where the staff pasted polaroids of their frequent customers. At each table, there would be a soft toy on each seat for customers to hug.

 

Nostalgia hit Baekhyun hard when he stepped into the café and was welcomed by the sweet aroma of pastries and cakes. Baekhyun paced around the café, looking around to see if anything had changed within the past 3 years. Certainly, nothing had changed – it all remained the way Baekhyun remembered. When Baekhyun reached the wall full of polaroids, he quickly scanned around to find the one they had put up when he was in his first year of university.

 

But instead of finding his own polaroid, his eyes landed on another polaroid. It had Baekhyun in it, but he wasn’t alone. Chanyeol was in it too. The both of them were sharing a strawberry milkshake, each on their own straw, and looking into each other’s eyes. It was certainly a lovey-dovey scene to any outsider, showing the world how in love the two are in.

 

“This polaroid was taken about a year after we started dating,” Chanyeol suddenly appeared by his side. “You loved this café so much, you dragged me here so often that the owner started to recognise me too. You even suggested to have our first date here.”

 

Baekhyun smiled after hearing that. It certainly sounded like something he’ll suggest and do.

 

“By the way, I found the two of us a table and I’ve already placed our orders. They should arrive soon.”

 

“How did you know what I wanted to order?”

 

“A cream puff and strawberry milkshake, right? You always order these two whenever we visit this place.”

 

Baekhyun flashed Chanyeol a smile as a silent form of thanks, and Chanyeol led them to their seats.

 

Barely a minute after they were seated down, their orders arrived. Apparently, Chanyeol had ordered for himself their chocolate cheesecake and café latte. The moment their orders were placed in front of their eyes, they began to dig into their slices of cake.

 

In that two hours that they spent at the café, they talked and discussed animatedly about their hobbies and likes, and almost anything under the sun. Chanyeol knew almost everything about Baekhyun, but Baekhyun didn’t know anything about Chanyeol, or more like he forgot.

 

During the time they spent together talking while eating, Baekhyun found out that the both of them actually had so many points in common. Both of them preferred dogs over cats (Chanyeol even owns one back at his parents’ place), both agreed that DC heroes were much better than Marvel, and both of them absolutely loved the band ‘ROCKERS DELIGHT’ (to his surprise, he also found out that Chanyeol was currently working as an audio technician under the company the band was in).

 

He also realised how easy-going Chanyeol was, and how much fun it was to chat with him. There was never a single awkward moment during their conversation, Baekhyun wondered why the both of them hadn’t opened up earlier. Baekhyun also found himself liking the wide smile Chanyeol’s lips would stretch into, as well as the loud boisterous laughter the said man will burst into whenever something funny came up. Also, Baekhyun kept thinking about how handsome Chanyeol was, not that he already didn’t know. But upon looking at Chanyeol as a whole, both regarding looks and personality, it was no wonder the past Baekhyun fell in love with him. Baekhyun could also feel himself slowly falling in love with Chanyeol.

 

 

After that movie and café date, Chanyeol and Baekhyun started to converse more frequently. Much more frequently. Baekhyun actually found joy in chatting with Chanyeol. During their meals together, they would basically talk about anything under the sun – Chanyeol’s day at work, any subject that they saw online, or even random topics that they thought of on the spot. Gone were the days filled with awkward tension, now it was as if Baekhyun had known Chanyeol for a long, long time. Baekhyun even found himself not minding to recall his past memories, wanting to know Chanyeol even better.

 

 

Chanyeol had to leave Baekhyun alone in the apartment for a few days due to a business trip, but assured Baekhyun that he would text back often. With the assurance, Baekhyun was less upset at Chanyeol leaving him alone.

 

It was the 4th day of the trip and Baekhyun was already bored to death. Without Chanyeol around, he had no one to play with, or physically talk with. Kyungsoo was busy with Jongin, so calling them out to hang out wasn’t an option. It was starting to become suffocating, being trapped within the four walls of the house without anything to do.

 

Baekhyun was lying on the sofa, being bored to death when he remembered that there was a storage room in the apartment, and he had yet to step in there since he was discharged from the hospital. Curious as to what the room might contain, he decided to do a little exploring.

 

Just as Baekhyun expected from a storage room, it was a little dusty and relatively cluttered. Unexpected items could be found as well – a rocking horse, a box of Legos, doll houses and other toys. Baekhyun’s heart squirmed a little at the sight of these toys. Did these toys belong to the girl in the picture? Minhee, was it? What exactly happened to her?

 

Though his head hurt a little, questions ran through his mind like a train. There was just so many unanswered questions, only questions that his past self could answer. Having a gut feeling that the storage room might hold more answers regarding his past, Baekhyun decided to probe a little more.

 

Eyes fixated on the artefacts neatly places in cupboards and on shelves, he failed to spot a wooden box lying in the middle of his path, causing him to trip over it.  Before he could curse out loud at the item that caused his pain, his eyes laid on it, and it was as if the box was beckoning him to open it. Without a word, he picked up the box and brought it out to the living room.

 

After cleaning off the layer of dust on the surface of the box, Baekhyun placed it on the TV table in front of him and sat on the floor, staring at it. He took a few deep breaths, mentally preparing himself for the contents to be found in the box.

 

Here goes nothing. He opened the box and took out its contents piece by piece.

 

The first photograph he took out was a photo of him and Chanyeol, laughing happily at each other, eyes turning into crescents. Judging from the background, it must have been a date at Fluffs and Puffs. Staring at the photograph a little longer, he had flashes of what seems to be memories of that event popping up in his mind.

 

“Hey, Chanyeol! You have something of your lips!”

 

Baekhyun then proceeded to wipe some of his cake’s icing onto the corner of Chanyeol’s lips with his fingers.

 

“Then why not you help me wipe it off?” Chanyeol playfully asked.

 

Baekhyun smirked and leaned in, sticking his tongue out and off the icing, making sure his tongue lingered a little longer. Chanyeol blushed at his boyfriend’s actions, even though he always knew Baekhyun was the daring one in their relationship.

 

Baekhyun laughed loudly at the sight of Chanyeol flustering. Upon seeing his boyfriend laugh so heartily, Chanyeol felt a bubble of laughter arising, before he also burst into laughter with his boyfriend.

 

A sharp pain shot through Baekhyun’s head, although bearable, but was that a memory? Wanting to remember more of these little events with Chanyeol, he quickly continued to look through the box.

 

The next photograph he took out was a photo of him and Chanyeol, tightly hugging each other under a sky of fairy lights.

 

“Chanyeol, when you said that you’d bring me out for a special date, you didn’t mention that you’d be doing all of this! The fairy lights look so pretty!”

 

Baekhyun looked up, appreciating the view of the many fairy lights hanging above him, located in the centre of the park. He was too distracted at the amazing sight in front of his eyes, when Chanyeol called his name.

 

Baekhyun hummed and turned around, only to be greeted at the sight of his boyfriend kneeling before him. His heart started racing at the sight, it can’t be…

 

“Baekhyun, although we haven’t been dating for long, but I’m very sure that you’re the one I want to spend the rest of my life with.”

 

It was only the start of Chanyeol’s speech and Baekhyun could already feel the tears threatening to escape.

 

“I want to spend every waking moment with you, regardless of good or bad times. I want to be in every good memory of yours, and turn the bad ones into good ones. I want to be the one to kiss away every worry that you’ll have. And I want to be your reason to smile. So Baek, will you be willing to spend the rest of your life with this dummy?”

 

Chanyeol took out a small velvet box from his back pocket, opening it to reveal a silver band, encrusted with a few diamonds.

 

Baekhyun choked out a sob and nodded, unable to trust his voice. The moment he silently said ‘yes’, Chanyeol jumped up and brought him into a tight embrace.

 

Baekhyun teared up at the memory of how Chanyeol proposed under the many fairy lights, since he remembered that his childhood fantasy was to be proposed under the starry night sky. As he was caught up in the memory, a shiny object in the box caught his attention.

 

It was their engagement ring.

 

Baekhyun suddenly realised that although he knew they were married, he never noticed the absence of the ring on his finger. The hospital must’ve given this back to Chanyeol after my accident.

 

There was also an origami heart beside the ring. Picking it up, he saw writings inside of it. Curious, he unfolded it to read what was inside.

 

‘Dear Papa and Daddy,

 

Happy Fathers’ Day!

 

Thank you for all the love you have given Minhee!

 

Minhee loves you too!

 

Love,

 

Your Minhee’

 

Baekhyun remembered, very shortly after they got married, they adopted Minhee, who was 6 at that time. But where Minhee was, Baekhyun still didn’t know. At the back of his mind, the worst possible scenario was calling out to him but he refused to believe it.

 

It was until Baekhyun found a newspaper cutting at laid at the bottom of the box, slightly crumpled. He took the piece of paper out with trembling hands – it was an article.

 

‘UNFORTUNATE ACCIDENT LEAVES 2 DEAD AND ANOTHER IN A COMA’, the article read.

 

His head started throbbing after reading the headlines, and the moment his eyes landed on a picture of the accident site, an unbearable sharp pain shot through his head. He cradled his head with both hands while screaming out, wanting the pain to go away as black spots started to appear in his vision.

 

Before he completely gave in to the pain and darkness and collapsed onto the floor, he faintly heard the sound of the door opening and someone shouting his name in worry.

 

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