The exam week is officially over and what's left is the dreadful waiting for our final grades to be posted. To be honest, I'm not even confident I'll be getting high grades especially with the major subjects this semester. In med school, it's already a blessing once you get a passing grade. I'll just do better next semester, I guess. 

 

The first semester was my adjustment phase. There were changes in my study routine and it was way more different than the routine I had when I was still in college, mostly because of the heavier load and the subjects are way more difficult. Not to mention that the educational system here in South Korea is different from the system in the US. 

 

Another factor is that in the whole five months starting from the time I came back, most days I feel like Seoul is a foreign city despite it being the place I was raised. I think it was one of the consequences of being away from here for 5 years. 

 

Dramatic history, my parents brought me to the US five years ago due to serious health reasons. That health reason was the reason why I majored in Biomedical Science because I wanted to get into med school despite my family saying I wouldn't be able to handle the academic pressures due to my almost-tragic health background. I want to understand what happened to me five years ago, how the doctors were able to treat me, and what parts of me were damaged at that time. 

 

My parents were so against the idea of me wanting to be a doctor that I didn't talk to them for a month when they found out I chose to enroll in Biomedical Science instead of Business Economics. 

 

"But you're already healed, sweetheart. Don't you want our family to move on and focus on what's making you better?" is what my mom used to tell me because she doesn't understand why I wanted to pursue this career path. 

 

Eventually, I understood their reasons. They wanted to leave that tragic moment in the past because they don't want their only daughter to suffer by recalling it. 

 

You're probably wondering what happened to me five years ago because of all these dramatic moments between me and my parents. Well, it was blow-to-the-head dramatic... I mean literally. I was in a coma. Five months later, I woke up in a hospital room in a foreign country. 

 

After that, I spent almost a year of therapy relearning facts and skills but it wasn't that difficult considering I've only lost like 6 months worth of events. It's not like I had to re-meet people I had forgotten because my parents don't think I've met new people in those six months that I had lost. Considering the social and political status of both my parents, I kinda agree because growing up, there weren't really a lot of people or kids my age that I had emotional connections with so the probability of me forming an emotional bond within those six months is very low.

 

When I first came here from the US before the start of med school, my older brother Seojoon proposed the idea of me joining him and our parents for dinner after every end of the school term. He knew I'll have no time to visit because of the heavy load at school and that our parents will start missing me once classes start. He was also feeling guilty because our mother didn't like the idea of him spending his savings on an apartment in Cheongdam and moving out but he still did anyway. Plus, there was a need for me to rent an apartment nearer to Seoul National University because if I stay in my parents' apartment which is way across the Han River and almost an hour away from school, I'll always be late for my morning classes. 

 

Tonight will be like our family celebrating because I survived a semester of 3-4 hours of sleep per day and for not flunking my grades. It'll be like a small reward for myself by not thinking about academics just for a few nights. 

 

So here I am after a day of exams, instead of going home to my rented apartment in Hannam, I drove straight across the Han River to Seongdong, the neighborhood where these three very tall apartment buildings are constructed close together like they're forming a triangle. One of these buildings is where my parents' apartment is located. 

 

As I enter the elevator, I wondered if my brother is already up there helping my parents make dinner. 

 

"Wait!"

 

I immediately pressed the 'open' button of the elevator when I heard it. The elevator doors opened and it revealed a man in a grey Thom Browne hoodie with his hands on his knees, catching his breath. 

 

"Kamsahamnida." He told me without looking. He stood up straight, still having a hard time breathing, and entered the elevator.

 

I slightly smiled. "No problem," I told him as the elevator doors closed. 

 

I slightly turned my head towards his direction and to my surprise, he was already staring. "Can I.. help you?" I hesitantly asked.

 

He looked... alarmed. 

 

Did I do something?

 

"U-Uh.." He tried to speak. He cleared his throat and spoke with his voice shaking. "Mianhae-yo. A-Amugeotdo."  [Sorry. It's nothing.]

 

He looked away and just stared at his reflection in the elevator wall, panicking. He looked like he just witnessed someone die or something. 

 

I immediately brushed it off my mind and just dug into my bag for my phone and AirPods. I played some music after putting the AirPods on. 

 

I removed the AirPods and placed them inside its case. The man beside me reached for his phone in his pockets. He was trying to call someone with his hands shaking like crazy. 

 

Is he... okay? 

 

I slowly reached out in concern. "J-jeogi.." [Excuse me..]

 

"Ah!" He screamed in surprise, dropping his phone in the process. 

 

Why does he look scared? 

 

My brows furrowed in confusion at the sight of him slowly walking backwards towards the farthest corner of the elevator, as if he wanted to be away from me as possible without being obvious. His eyes almost wide in panic were fixed on my face the whole time. He looked like he wanted to say something but he couldn't form the words. 

 

"U-Uh..." I wanted to speak but I'm also as shocked as him to form any sentence. 

 

I picked up his phone that he dropped and I hesitantly reached forward to give it to him. "A-Are you okay?" I asked.

 

He didn't answer. He's just breathing heavily, not taking his eyes off me.

 

"Yeoboseyo?"  A voice from the phone in my hand asked. "Hyung?"

 

We both looked at his phone in my hand upon hearing the voice on the other line. It wasn't on speakerphone but I could hear it given that we're in a closed space.

 

The man in the elevator snatched his phone from my hand and immediately placed it near his ear to answer the call. "J-j-j..." He cleared his throat and finally, he was able to speak, "J-Jungkookie.."

 

"Wae?" the person on the other line asked. "Are you on your way up?"

 

He cleared his throat again. "Y-Yes, I am. Who's up there already?"

 

I looked away from him because I didn't want him to think I was eavesdropping.. even though I actually was. 

 

"Taehyungie, Yoongi-hyung, and Jimin." 

 

"Ahh.."

 

"Why are you calling when you're already on your way up anyway, hyung? Don't tell me you forgot my apartment's password again."

 

The man beside me lets out a nervous laugh. "Of course, I remember!" he defended and then spoke in a foreign language which I think was Japanese. "覚えていないのは私の隣の女性です。 彼女はここにいます。 Trimageエレベーター。" **

 

The reason for the language switch, I couldn't care less. Maybe he sensed I was eavesdropping. 

 

"Mwo?! Yah. Yah. Yah."  The guy on the other line now sounded like he's in a hurry. "He's in the kitchen, hyung. Do you want me to call him over here and tell him?"

 

"No. No. That's a bad idea. He's not ready." 

 

"What the heck are you saying he's not ready? He's been waiting for this for years! Now, it's right in front of you! Who knows when he's going to have his chance again?"

 

I heard a 'ding' indicating that I have arrived at my parents' apartment floor. 

 

"Hyung, I'm in the kitchen now with the others. What should I tell him?" a man's voice from the phone spoke again in concern. 

 

The doors opened and I slowly stepped out of the elevator. For some reason, it felt wrong leaving him there. 

 

I made eye contact with the man in the elevator once again. I saw him pressing an elevator button and I assumed he wanted to close the elevator doors immediately. 

 

But the doors weren't closing.

 

Wait.. 

 

Is he... pressing the open button on purpose?

 

What the hell is going on? And why is he staring at me looking.. determined?

 

"Don't say anything yet. We'll wait for Hobi."

 

I got uncomfortable because he wasn't looking at me anymore and was glaring at something behind me.

 

"...and then you two are going to tell him what happened 5 months ago."

 

The elevator doors started to close and before the doors shut, I swear I caught him smirking. 

 

"Han Suyi!" 

 

I turned my head towards the sound of my name being called. There standing just a few feet behind me was my brother. 

 

That's when I realized.

 

It was Seojoon the man was looking at. 

 

He was glaring at my brother.

 

 

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** It's the woman next to me who doesn't remember. She is here. Trimage elevator. 

 

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Hello, this is garnetclouds!

I hope you liked this update. Please do tell me what you think of the story so far in the comments! I'd love to hear your thoughts and who you think is him based on the small clues I left along the chapters. Don't forget to subscribe to this story and leave an upvote!

Thank you for giving this story a chance! I hope to see you on my next update.

Borahae!! 

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