▬ Chapter 5: Don't Forget ▬

“Minhyul?!” A familiar voice entered Sungyeol’s ears, startling him a bit before he blinked a few times to adjust his eyes towards the area around him. Whenever he heard that distinctive voice, he automatically knew that it was him.

He groaned as he stretched his arms up high, letting out a tired sigh. Apparently, Sungyeol ended up sleeping next to Minhyul, which he had no recollection of doing. “Wow, I never knew I could sleep sitting upright. Maybe being a ghost isn’t all that bad.”

“Minhyul!” The voice said again as a familiar man skidded down the small slope. His uneven and rushed steps drew nearer and nearer. “Are you okay?!”

“Hey, where did you come from?” Sungyeol scowled at the panicked man who stopped just a few shy steps away from the sleeping woman. Sometimes even Sungyeol gets surprised at the sudden appearance of the guy. He often questions if he was a ninja by the fact that he comes in at random times and in the stealthiest of ways. “But I’m glad you came instead of that guy,” he whispered with a triumphant smile.

Minhyul slowly flapped her eyes open which Sungyeol found adorable and he internally squealed with excitement. “Dongwoo? What are you doing here?”

“There, there.” Dongwoo slipped an arm under her legs while the other rested on her back. She then unconsciously leaned her tired head on his chest. “I’ll take you home.”

“You didn’t even answer her question,” Sungyeol retorted with a smirk.

“I heard that, you idiot.”

“What?” Minhyul and Sungyeol both said in unison.

“Sungyeol… he’s probably going to say that I haven’t answered your question,” he chuckled. “He doesn’t like being ignored or left hanging.”

The two of them both snickered. Minhyul nodded in agreement while Sungyeol gave an approving hum. “This guy is just so unpredictable.”

Dongwoo took a couple of steps and began, “I was heading home after I closed my shop and called your phone but you weren’t picking up. I got worried and so I ran over here.”

“How did you...” Minhyul’s words were left in a hanging trail and she didn’t even get to finish before Dongwoo smiled, already knowing what she was going to ask. He turned around after securing that his friend was safely in his arms and started walking towards her home.

“I remember that this was where you guys always hung out so I decided to come here first and voila! I found you here!”

She fell silent and so did Sungyeol.

“How the heck does he know we always come here?” Sungyeol narrowed his eyes at the smiling man. Was he sneaking up behind us?

“No, I wasn’t sneaking.”

“What the heck?! Can he read minds—”

“And I can’t read minds either.”

Sungyeol ran a hand through his hair and sighed. “I give up.”

“Sungyeol... That guy, you know he loves you right?” Minhyul slowly nodded, not knowing where he was heading with his next few lines. “Before he…,” he paused for a while to find the most fitting word, “...left, he told me a few things.”

[Flashback]

Loud honking sounds from cars were blaring, people were screaming, and all eyes were drawn towards the crushed car right by the alley. Smoke was coming out from the engines and witnesses were screaming for someone to call the ambulance and get help.

Sungyeol felt helpless as he struggled with his body getting crushed against the car, making it difficult to move even for just a small inch without experiencing excruciating pain. He kept on gagging out blood and was sl