Hoya took slow steps out of the clear, sliding doors of the hospital. He quietly followed behind the man–Woohyun, he remembers his name being–and lightly pressed against the tape on the cotton that was starting to detach from the wound on his forehead. The air that hit him was slightly warm, but Hoya wanted so desperately to run back into the cool temperature of his small room in the infirmary. He held tightly onto the bottle of pills the doctor had administered him for any pain, and took a deep breath as he continued to walk behind.

Woohyun looked back and waited for Hoya to catch up with him, his small steps inching their way closer with his eyes never leaving the ground. Once Hoya approached his side, Woohyun delicately brought up his hand to Hoya's back to support him, but the mere touch of only his fingertips against the back of the other's shirt caused Hoya to flinch and retreat a few steps away from him.

Woohyun hid the downhearted frown although Hoya wasn't looking, and instead thumbed the smooth surface of the car key in his hand as he weaved his way in the parking lot.

Hoya stops once the other does, looking up slightly at a dark red car. "Where are we going?" he asked once he reached the door of the passenger side. The other pressed a button on his keys and Hoya jumped from the sudden sound of the car doors unlocking. He's been nervous and jumpy ever since he was told he could leave, because it meant he was no longer safe anymore in his small room he had gotten used to with friendly nurses who took care of him. He felt like he couldn't entirely trust this man beside him either, his "close friend"; for all he knew Woohyun could be some murderer.

But the soft smile he receives from the other makes him start to doubt his thoughts, just a bit.

"We're heading to my house. You live with me," he says simply and opens his door to the car with Hoya following.

Hoya jumps again when the engine starts loudly, and Woohyun pulls out of the parking lot and drives into the street.

Hoya keeps his hand locked firmly around the door handle, ready to jump out if he needs to in case this guy decides to make some move to hurt him. His other hand digs its nails into his leg and he harshly bites his tongue when Woohyun suddenly brakes and curses under his breath at someone who cuts him off on the road, and Hoya's hold on the handle tightens.

"Sorry," Woohyun says with his eyes still on the road in front of him, but when he receives no reply he turns his head a bit and sees the killer grip Hoya has on the handle, as if his life depended on it (though, Woohyun wouldn't be surprised if Hoya felt that it did). 

Hoya is oblivious to his gaze as he keeps his vision fixed on the window, watching the people and buildings pass by them, although his thoughts are elsewhere.

"Hey, relax," he hears Woohyun say, and suddenly the warm, comfortable feeling of the tone in his voice causes him to loosen his grip, just a little.

"You're probably nervous since I'm just a stranger to you," Woohyun continues. "You probably don't even trust me right now, but believe me when I say I'm not going to hurt you." I'd never, ever hurt you. "I'm your... close friend... remember? Believe me. And I promise you'll always be safe as long as you're with me."

Hoya once again only replies with silence, but when Woohyun turns to look at him once more, Hoya's no longer touching the door.

~ ♦ ~

Hoya takes cautious steps through the front door of Woohyun's house. He was told he lives here but as soon as he stepped in, he doesn't feel like he's at home.

He scoffs mentally and shakes his head, reminding himself that of course he feels that way, because he doesn't know anything anymore. So instead, Hoya sighs and looks around cream-colored walls as if it were any old room.

He takes a side glance at Woohyun as the other walks by him into the kitchen, placing his keys on the countertop and opening the fridge. He's too much into his thoughts that he doesn't hear the "Want something to drink?" coming from Woohyun.

"That young man over there, he was very worried about you," he remembers the doctor saying back at the hospital as he pointed to the stranger fast asleep on the side of his bed. Suddenly, he remembers the first time he had awoken in that room, seeing Woohyun at the side of his bed. "Howon-ah...I almost lost you. I was so worried." Hoya looks up at the other and notices the dark circles underneath his eyes with a slight puffiness surrounding it. He hears a faint "Howon?" and stares blankly at Woohyun's lips opening and closing. "Howon...Howon-ah...don't you remember your own damn name?!"

He feels his chest tighten and a small pounding in his head is starting to form. He's starting to feel frustrated, and the only thing that's in his head is why? All his memories, everything he knew from before, and in one moment they're all gone. There's so much he wants to know, the how's and what's and who's and where's, but it's as if that slate is wiped clean. Why? the question always finds its way back to his mind. Why did it have to take my memories?

His hand balls into a fist and he hears Woohyun's voice again. 

"Howon, are you oka–"

"I'm tired," Hoya says flatly, staring at a small stain on the carpet that looks like it could never be washed off, and his nails dig harder into the palm of his hand. He wasn't entirely lying about what he said, though. He is tired, physically and mentally, and he just wants to sleep to get away from his thoughts.

Woohyun's a little surprised at the sudden interruption, but in a second the look in his eyes turn soft and gentle and he gives a small, earnest nod. "Come on, room's over here."

Hoya follows him silently to a large bedroom. He looks around at one whole color of cream on each wall, matching the color of the rest of the house, one big closet, one dresser, and his eyes fall upon one bed. He stares at it and furrows his eyebrows in confusion.

"Is this, um, my room?" he asks hesitantly, and Woohyun replies with a stoic "It's ours."

Hoya rubs at the back of his neck and shifts his weight from one foot to the other. "But...there's only...one...um..."

Woohyun follows Hoya's gaze to the center of the room at their shared bed, and now he understands.

"We...sleep together," he answers, trying to make it sound as if it were a normal thing (which it was for them, but Hoya no longer knew that), but the puzzled look he continues to receive tells him it didn't convince him.

"If you'd like, I could sleep at the couch in the–"

"It's fine," Hoya replies abruptly, interrupting Woohyun for the second time. Right now, all he wants is to go to sleep and erase his thoughts, even if it's just for a few hours. He thinks it's ironic; how he wants to sleep to forget everything, when in reality he already has. He quickly shakes that thought away.

Hoya takes a seat on the edge of one side of the bed with his back facing Woohyun, running his hand along the dark, coffee-colored sheets. He finds it different from the white sheets he was accustomed to seeing back at the hospital, but he's debating if it's perhaps a good kind of different.

Woohyun averts his worried eyes from Hoya's back, and he notices the picture frame on the bedside table next to him. He brings his hand up and runs his thumb along the border of the frame, giving a sad smile as he looks at the photo of him and Hoya smiling happily. He glances at Hoya to make sure his back is still facing him, and he slowly takes the picture frame and places it inside the drawer, emitting a quiet sigh. He bites his lip and fights back the few tears welling up in his eyes. It's only the beginning, he keeps trying to insist himself. We'll get there. Woohyun sighs and decides he'll go to bed later on.

"Rest well," Hoya hears Woohyun say before the door shuts with a click.