Jungkook

Who are you? Jungkook thought as the words echoed in his head. Jungkook shook his head, and exhaled, clearing his mind.

What mattered now was that he was up. He had to notify the doctor first and then call Jimin’s family to let them know he was up.

He went around the hospital bed and pushed the call button.

“Yes?” a woman’s voice crackled through the speaker. 

“Jimin woke up. Can you please page Dr. Kim Namjoon?” he said.

 “That’s wonderful. Yes, of course, I’ll page him right away, Mr. Jeon,” the voice came through again. 

Jungkook glanced at Jimin for a few seconds, and stepped out of the room, closing the door behind him. He reached into his pockets and pulled out his cellphone dialing Jihyun’s number.

“Jungkook? Is everything alright?” Jihyun answered his phone quietly, nervousness in his voice.

“Everything is fine, Jimin woke up.”

Jungkook heard Jihyun immediately call for his mother.

“Really? Is he okay?” it was Mrs. Park, speaking on the phone now. Jungkook inhaled sharply. He hesitated; he did not want to say anything without hearing what the doctor had to say first. He could’ve been simply confused; anyone would be after being in a coma for two months.

“I think he is fine. I’m waiting for the doctor,” he replied, his chest tighten. He felt relieved and terrified at the same time.

“We’re on our way right now,” she said.

“See you soon,” Jungkook replied and hung up the phone. He sent a text to Kim Taehyung, Jimin’s best friend- not wanting to disturb him with a phone call while he is working.

Afterward, he went back inside the room and sat down heavily in the chair next to Jimin. He held on to Jimin’s hand as he gazed at his beautiful face.

They’d been through so much over a year. They were just starting a new phase of their lives together. The night of the accident he felt as though his whole world had crumbled when he woke up and learned Jimin was in a coma. At first, many people were in and out because he was so loved. His fans, manager, and colleagues were all devasted. He received many flowers and cards.

But they soon disappeared, the only people that remained were Jungkook, his family, his best friend Taehyung, and his manager, doctors, and nurses.

For two months he had been waiting for him to wake up. He refused to believe that Jimin forgot about him. Forgot about them. Their love. No, it was impossible. What he wanted and needed now is to be with Jimin. To be with his boyfriend, the love of his life.

The door opened, and Doctor Kim Namjoon came in. They exchanged smiles. “Hey Jungkook,” he greeted, “I was told Jimin woke up?”

“He did,” Jungkook replied, “I was standing over him, holding his hand then he squeezed my hand and opened his eyes. It took him a moment, and then he asked me who I was and wanted water.  I gave him a glass of water. He looked me right in the eyes before falling asleep.”

“Hmm,” nodded Doctor Kim, “It’s not unlikely that patients like him wake up with memory problems. It could just be confusion after waking up or it could be memory loss. We won’t know until later. Luckily- “

There was a pause as the door swung open as Jimin’s family rushed inside the room, “Jimin,” called out his mother.

“Hello, Mrs. And Mr. Park,” greeted Dr. Kim.

“Doctor, how is he?” asked Mr. Park.

“Jungkook was just telling me what happened,” replied Doctor Kim, “the fact that he spoke at all is a really good sign. Let me exam him.”

Jungkook watched as Doctor Kim moved to the other side of the bed and Jimin’s family moved to stand beside him. Doctor Kim took Jimin’s hand and squeezed it. Jungkook could see Jimin lightly squeeze it back, and the Doctor smiled.

“Jimin,” he said loudly. “Can you open your eyes?”

It took a few minutes but Jimin slowly opened. They looked at the Doctor filled with confusion, then glanced over at Jungkook and his family, then back to Doctor Kim.

“Can you tell me your name?” asked Dr. Kim, shinning a little flashlight in his eyes. Jimin looked quizzically at him. “Do you know where you are?”

Jimin opened his mouth and slowly said, “I’m in the hospital.”

“Very good,” replied Dr. Kim with a smile, “Do you remember how you got here?”

Jimin shook his head, “I don't remember anything. What happened to me?”

“You were in an accident about 2 months ago and fell into a coma, I’m Dr. Kim Namjoon, your psychiatrist,” said Dr. Kim, “Your name is Park Jimin, and these are your family. We’re all so happy to have you back with us.”

Jungkook inhaled, as he watched Jimin glancing over at them with fear and confusion. His heart started to beat fast. His thoughts were muddled but he tried his best to remained composed. He did not want to get emotional and overwhelm him.

Dr. Kim turned back to them afterward, and gestured for them to join him at the corner of the room, a few steps away from the bed, “I know you all must be worried and anxious but patients like him it’s best he is no pressure because that would only cause resentment. From what I can tell, Jimin is suffering from the loss of memory, but we’ll know more after a few days. He will probably be in and out of consciousness for the next few days. It’s normal. His body and mind are still healing, and sleep is the best way to do that. I’ll be in and out to check on him. If anything, else happens to have me paged immediately, okay?”

“Okay, replied Mrs. Park.

“What do we do now? How can we help him?” asked Jungkook.

“Right now, he needs his rest. However, I would like you guys to bring pictures or anything that holds great memory to him, just in case,” replied Dr. Kim. He smiled at them, “The important thing is that he came back, and he is vital all stable.”

Jungkook glanced at Jimin who was already fast asleep again. Many emotions run through him.

Jimin

Next Day, 

Jimin.

That was the name he was told. That’s who he was. It sounded strange in his mind. He looked at the people gathered around his bed. They all looked at him eagerly and he knew they wanted him to recognize them, but he didn’t even know his name, let alone their names. He had just woken up, and their eyes scared him. They were filled with all kinds of emotions and felt like he was to blame for not knowing who they were.

They had all introduced themselves to him as soon as he ate his food- the lady was his mother, the man was his father, one of the young men was his younger brother Jihyun, and the other young man was called Jungkook. He was the first person he saw when he woke up, it was his voice that echoed in his mind whenever his eyes were closed…but Jimin was not sure what relationship he had with him, so he assumed they were friends.

What else could they be? A few minutes later, the boy named Jungkook left, and only his family remained in the room.

At around 11 am, Dr. Kim Namjoon walked into the room. Jimin watched as he greeted the people, and then came and stood beside his bed, “Hello Jimin,” he said softly, “How do you feel?”

How did I feel? He thought and rasped out his words. “I feel like…I’m under a lot of pressure but I can’t remember anything. I don’t like it. Why can’t I remember anything?”

“It’s alright if you can’t remember anything, don’t force yourself, we’re all here to help you,” replied Dr. Kim, “The reason you can’t remember is that you have amnesia. It is normal after a traumatic event, luckily with most cases like this the memory returns. Not always, but usually. You’ve been through more in the last month than most people go through in their entire lives. Understandably, it would be scary. And there is still a long road ahead of you. But we are here to help you, and so is your family. But you must allow them to help you. But if you start feeling overwhelmed, it’s okay to let them know. Say what you feel, they’ll understand, okay.”

“Okay,” Jimin said, his voice was so soft and weak.

“I’m going to give you some time with your family, is that alright?” asked Dr. Kim. His words were starting to sink in, and as much as he wanted all of them to leave, he felt bad. It must be hard for a parent to look at their child in this state and even harder on them to know that their son didn’t recognize them. Jimin knew he wasn’t the only one having trouble coming to terms with the accident. He understood his whole family was having to adjust to the new normal. His new reality.

He took a lung full of air and nodded his head, “It’s fine.”

When the doctor left the room, Jimin found himself surrounded by strangers. In no time, an album was on his lap, “Would you like to see some pictures?” asked, Jihyun.

Jimin nodded, as he adjusted himself, as the man, his father pressed a button to make the bed lean up until he was in an upright position. Jimin glanced at the first photo the boy showed him.

It was a photo of four people- the man, his father, the woman, his mother, and two boys. They were standing in front of a Christmas tree wearing a cheesy outfit. They all seemed so happy. He bit his lower lip. He did not recognize any of them. He glanced at Jihyun who switched to another photo and smiled hopefully. The second picture was of the two boys- one of them was supposed to be him. They were standing in front of the ocean with their arms around each other, eyes closed, and large smiles.

Jimin sighed. These photos proved nothing. “Do you have any grown-up pictures?” he asked, not wanting to waste any more time.

“Yes, of course,” said Jihyun, flipping through the album, and stopping at a picture. It was of the four people, he noticed the man, the woman, and the boy, Jihyun but the fourth person was foreign to him. They were standing in front of what looked like an ice rank.

He looked at them puzzled, not sure what they wanted him to see. The woman exhaled loudly and dug into her purse and pulled out a small handheld mirror. She handed the picture and the mirror to him, and he indulged her by looking.  

Jimin gasped. He stared into the small mirror and then the picture, and noticed he was the fourth person in the picture with these people. He gazed into the mirror- a pair of frightening eyes stared back at him, but he had no clue who it was.

And that was when it hit him. He had no clue who he was. He had forgotten his whole life, not just these strangers before him. He felt his stomach sink. He gave the mirror and pictures back to them,

“I’m tired,” he said, pushing away the album, “I want to sleep. Please leave.”

“Oh? Um…okay,” said the man, pushing the button again and laid his bed back, “We’ll come back later then.”

 Without saying a word, Jimin turned to his side, burying his face in his pillow. The people kept talking around him, but he closed his eyes shut, feeling a tear slide down his cheek. He pressed his lip tight to keep himself quiet.

He wanted to sink into the bed and disappear.

Eventually, he heard footsteps, then a door closing. The room quieted, and his body did a little hiccup and he cried even harder.

***

The days blurred; the minutes pressed into hours. It had been a week since he’d officially woken from the coma. The shock of being diagnosed with amnesia took a toll on him. His body was alive, but his brain was shut down, as he lay there and tried not to remember that he couldn't remember anything.

Dr. Kim and nurses came in and out of his room. His family came to visit him every day, and they would tell him stories in hopes they would jog his memories. They were interesting stories, but they meant nothing to him.  He did learn that he was twenty-four years old, but that seemed to put more pressure on him. Twenty-four years of his life gone, in a blink of an eye.

Some days he would pretend to be asleep, to avoid listening to their stories, just to see the disappointment in their eyes, when he told them, he did not remember what they were telling him.

They didn’t seem to understand that his mind was blank. He could not recall anything beyond waking up.

But one factor was different. Jungkook. Every time Jimin woke up, he would find him asleep in the chair next to his bed, holding his hand. Jungkook came in every day, and when his family arrived, Jungkook would stand in the corner or by the door. He protectively watched Jimin that no one else possessed. Unlike his family, Jungkook never told him stories nor did he ask any questions aside from how he was doing. his eyes also held sadness but they also held an understanding in them.