It was supposed to be like any other holiday they’ve had.

Every Chuseok, the Kims pack everything they could fit in their little car and then try to fit themselves in it, too. Then, they ride to where their Dad grew up in Gyeonggi-do, a province just east of Seoul. The car ride doesn’t usually take the whole day, probably just 3-4 hours if they’re lucky or 5 if they’re not.

That particular day during Jongdae’s 7^th birthday, it started raining even though it’s in the middle of summer. He saw his parents debating whether they should still continue the drive because it didn’t look like the rain would let up anytime soon.

“Maybe we should just celebrate here today, Dad.” Jongdae heard his mummy say. She was checking the news on the television and they all said that it’ll be a rainy Chuseok this year. “We can always go there next weekend, I’m sure they’ll understand.”

His Daddy looked sadly at the window where fat drops of water hit it every second, blurring the already gloomy view of Seoul’s road outside their house. Jongdae followed his Dad and went to the window, squishing his face on the glass.

“We’re not going, Dad?”

Chuseok was possibly Jongdae’s favorite holiday because even though he didn’t get gifts, he gets to spend the whole day with his parents. On the road! While going to places with lots of trees and flowers! Plus, his grandparents loves him to bits and hands him cookies every time he grins at them. Not being able to go will dampen his already gloomy holiday.

His Dad gave his sad face a fond smile before reaching out to ruffle his hair. “We are, son.”

It took them less than an hour to gather everything they needed to bring in their journey. Jongdae excitedly brought his teddy as he ran around, entertaining his parents as they carried everything to the car. His Chuseok will be better, after all!

“Ready, Jongdae?” His mommy asked him, crouching down to fix his collar and then bringing a jacket to wrap on his small body. “You should wear this so you won’t get cold later. It’ll be a long ride, hm?”

Jongdae nodded as he wrapped himself with the warm jacket. He smiled when he managed to wear it properly by himself, twirling slowly to show it off to his mom. “How does it look, mommy?” he asked.

“Perfect,” She winked at him before standing up and handing her his hand. “Let’s go?”

Jumping up to take her hand, he giggled excitedly. “Let’s go, let’s go! Go, go, go!”

Soon, they were slightly damp from running through the rain to get inside their small car. With Shinhwa’s songs blasting from the speakers and kimbap on their hands, they travelled through the heavy summer rain. There weren’t a lot of cars out, but the roads were slippery so they couldn’t rush past any car.

“How long till we get there, Mommy?” Jongdae asked from the back seat, his knees folded under his knees with toys scattered either of his side. They’ve been in the road for almost 4 hours now and Gyeonggi-do is still a good 2 or 3 hours away. He was bored and not even his teddy could keep him entertained.

His Dad was busy driving and his Mom was already asleep. Jongdae was in near tears, his back hurting from having seated too long. All he wanted was to get to his grandparent’s house and eat cookies and climb trees.

So his Dad turned to give him a reassuring smile for a second, but that second was all it took.

In that second, as the car is crossing a rather slippery bridge, their car swerved to the side just as the van at the back was about to overtake them. The hit, too fast and unexpected, managed to crash both cars with each other really hard that their car twirled three times in the road, hit two more cars, before the front crashed hard on the side of the bridge.

Jongdae didn’t even manage to process everything as his vision twirled and his nose itched and his body ached. Before he knew it, he could hear the screams and screeching of cars fade in his mind.

It didn’t take long for Jongdae to lose consciousness, seeing his Daddy and Mommy lying bloody at the front with the glass hitting their faces.

It didn’t take very long for Jongdae to see the last of his parents and his childhood.



It took longer than anyone would have hoped for Jongdae to wake up.



When Jongdae opened his eyes, the sight before him was blurry and he felt his head throb. For a second he felt disoriented, thinking he probably fell asleep in front of his grandparent’s fireplace and it probably muddled his brain. Then he realized there was no fire in front of him and he definitely wasn’t in his grandparent’s house. Oh and that there are needles prickling his arms!

Where was he?

Like any other 7 year would do when they realize they’re in a place they’re unfamiliar with, Jongdae opened his mouth wide and screamed the only word he knew would help him relax.

“MOMMY!”

Immediately, someone from outside opened the door. She was wearing a white blouse and white pants with a white hat on her head? Her smile was nice, but she wasn’t his Mom and all Jongdae wants is Mommy.

“Oh, you’re awake--”

With tears in his eyes, he screamed once again, “MOMMY! I WANT MY MOMMY!”

That’s when she realized something was terribly wrong.

Jongdae was in a hospital, the kind nurse told him. He was asleep for a long time and has finally woken up, she added. Then she patted his head and gave her a candy and told him to wait for her because she needs to call his doctor.

Why was he in the hospital? Good boys don’t get brought to the hospital, that’s why he always ate his apples every day. Why were the apples not working? Or was it because he slept past his bedtime on his birthday? It wasn’t his fault, really, teddy wanted to read the latest volume of One Piece!

Speaking, where was teddy? Why didn’t teddy come with him? And where are Mommy and Daddy? Did they leave him because he’s a bad boy?

Before Jongdae knew it, he was crying. “MOMMY! DADDY! DON’T LEAVE ME!”

Luckily, before Jongdae could make a mess of himself and jump down the bed, the door opened to reveal a man wearing a white coat followed by the kind lady that gave him candy. Since she was nice, he thought the doctor is probably safe. She wouldn’t bring someone who’ll hurt him, right?

“Good morning, Mr. Kim. How are you feeling?” He asked, a kind smile on his face that eased Jongdae’s nerves a bit.

“Okay. Where’s my mommy?” He couldn’t help himself.

He just smiled again, but it didn’t look as bright as the first one he gave him. The old man walked to his side and raised the stethoscope. He stopped and looked at Jongdae as if asking for his permission so he just nodded. He saw this on dramas his Mom watched.

The doctor hummed a nice melody that let Jongdae forget about the cold metal on his skin. Then he nodded at the nice lady as she wrote down something on the clipboard she was holding. This, he saw on those dramas as well. He remembers that the next part is where they give him the news. Was he going to die?

“You’re healthy as far as your vital signs say, Mr. Kim.” He told him proudly then paused, “But, may I ask what your age is? We didn’t seem to catch it…”

Why would they catch his age? This man talks funnily. “I’m seven years old!” Jongdae announced with 7 of his fingers raised in front of him. “I’m a grown boy now!”

The man smiled again, but he didn’t look happy at all. Was Jongdae wrong? Did he raise the wrong number of fingers? He used to do that back when he was 4, but he knew his counting numbers now.

“Well, Mr. Kim, we’ll leave you here to rest. You’ve been asleep for a long time so everything must be confusing for you.” He bowed slightly at him before leaving the room.

“Another nurse will come here soon, okay? We’ll come back,” the nice lady reassured him then handed him another candy.



Soon, after Jongdae dozed off, he was awaken by another group of people wearing white entered with a bed. He already has a bed, why did they bring a new one here?

“Hi, my name is Doctor Song, we have to bring you to another room. Can you move to this bed, Jongdae?” She asked, letting the boys move the bed to make them side by side with his current one. “Can you do it by yourself?”

“Of course! I’m a grown boy!” he huffed then moved his hand--had they always been this long-- to steady himself and--

“Mr. Kim!”

“Are you alright?”

“Help him up!”

Jongdae fell on the floor, his limbs aching and not because of the fall he just had. They hurt because they felt foreign on his body, as if he hasn’t used them for a long time or that he hasn’t used them at all.

His eyes roamed at the mess of strange set of limbs on the floor and realized that they were his. Then, just as he was about to speak again, he realized that his voice didn’t sound like his at all.

Like what any other 7 year old would do when in an unexpected situation, he could only scream, “MOMMY!”

It took a lot of calming and soothing words and with the help of the nurses to get Jongdae on the bed. They pushed the bed towards a hallway full of doors until they reach one with his name on it. One of the male nurses smiled down at him and held his hand when he looked nervous.

This room didn’t look any different from the one before, but there was a lock on the door with a small glass to view on the very top. Were they locking him in? Did he do something wrong?

When they were all done moving him back to the bed, (this time he didn't try and help them as he would probably be more of a problem) some of the men went back until the only left in the room were Doctor Song and the nurse that held his hand. They were both nice so he didn't try to cry again. Grown boys shouldn't cry so much, he reminded himself.

"Is there something wrong with me?" he asked her, but she just smiled at him.

"It's just that you've been asleep for a long time, Mr. Kim. We don't know yet if there's a problem so we have to ask you some questions to find out. Is that okay? Or do you want to rest a bit? Maybe a soup to warm up your tummy?" she asked kindly and Jongdae felt guilty for being a mess.

He shook his head. He drank water earlier and he isn't that hungry, surprisingly. Maybe he could wheedle some pizza from them later.

"Okay, then!" She clapped her hands and nodded at the guy. "Usually I hold these questions strictly in my office, but we can do this here for today. Just tell me when you start having problems in remembering, okay?"

He nodded again.

The questions were fairly simple like what his name was and when his birthday was. They asked about his school and his friends and he even told them about teddy. They asked about his favorite color and his favorite food and his favorite holiday.

When Jongdae answered "Chuseok," he felt his head throb that he winced and they immediately looked concerned. He smiled weakly at their concern and shook his head. He can do better than this!

"How about your parents? Do you remember your parents?"

Of course, Jongdae remembers his parents. He remembers how his Mom gave him a jacket when he's cold and his Dad would sing to Eusha Eusha as if it wasn't raining really hard. He even remembers the kimbap he ate while on the car--

"Are you okay, Jongdae? Should we take a short break?" Doctor Song asked him, touching his arm.

Jongdae heard the screams and screeching of cars fade in his mind and then he saw his parents bloodied in front of the car as the rain continued pouring around them. When he opened his eyes, he looked at Doctor Song's concerned face and asked, "What happened to mommy and daddy?"

AN: Thank you to my beloved betas, A and C! This wouldn't be here without the two of you. Thank you for all the support. I hope people will comment! This is basically my first SuChen fic. Enjoy!