The tears slowly stopped forming, leaving Jisun feeling drained as she continued to hold on to Yongguk. Then her whole body stiffened when he went to pull away. Without thinking, she held on to him tighter.
He froze for a moment before grabbing her arms and squeezed them. Then he slowly stepped back until they were separated. Jisun stared at him as he grabbed her hand. They shared a small look before he set off down the trail and she silently followed him.
Once they got home, they went into the mud room and Jisun quickly kicked off her shoes. She entered the kitchen and glanced around, still feeling dazed. A noise behind her mad her turn and she saw Yongguk standing in the doorway. The sad look he was giving her seemed to help bring her to her senses.
"Waffles." she blurted out loud. Then she went over to the cupboards and began pulling everything out she needed to cook their breakfast.
Yongguk silently retrieved the waffle maker and set it on the counter. Together, they worked as a team to prepare breakfast. Then they carried everything to the table and sat down.
She spread the strawberry jam on her waffles first before sliding the jar over to him. She watched for a bit as he put jam on his waffles. Then she looked down and took a bite of her food. As she chewed, she thought about the moment in the woods. And all the other times that she had simply dismissed as sleep walking.
She glanced over at him and suddenly inhaled sharply. He was staring off again, his eyes unfocused. She quickly reached over and grabbed his arm. Then he turned his head and looked at her curiously.
Her shoulders relaxed as she realized that it didn't happen again. That he was just thinking as well. "Sorry." she uttered. "I thought that... you were gone again. I... Touching you seems to be the only way to bring you back."
He pressed his lips together and slowly nodded. Then he stood up and slid his plate across the table towards. He scooted his chair over before sitting down next to her. "There. Now you don't have to reach over as far to help me." he said with a soft smile.
Her heart fluttered in her chest before a small smile formed on her face. She watched as he took a bite of his food and when he let out a little moan, she couldn't help but giggle. Then she continued eating her own food while reaching over to brush his arm with her hand every so often.

When she was done eating, Yongguk grabbed her plate with his and carried them to the sink. She screwed the lid back on the jam and put it in the fridge. While he washed the dishes, she wiped out the waffle back and put it back.
"Can we check the garden?" he asked as he dried the last plate and put it away.
She turned to face him and saw the hopeful look on his face. "Yeah." she agreed. "We should do that cause of the storm last night."
He smiled and grabbed her hand before eagerly pulling her to the mud room. Chuckling a little, she put her shoes back on and grabbed the metal bowl. She followed him outside and over to the garden.
"Uh oh." he uttered and pointed to one of the rows.
She looked where he was pointing and sighed. One of the metal meshings had lifted a bit in the storm and it was obvious some little critter had taken advantage of it. The leaves of the plant it was protecting were a lot smaller than they had been.
"Probably a rabbit." she commented and went over to inspect the plant.
"Well guess he had a good breakfast." Yongguk joked. "Not as good as strawberry jam though."
Jisun laughed and rolled her eyes a bit. Then set about making sure there wasn't any other damage from the storm. Besides a few apples that had fallen again, everything else seemed to be intact.
Next they harvested a few of the vegetables while debating about what to use them for. He wanted vegetable soup again while she wanted to grill the vegetables with some meat. Finally they settled on making a meat and vegetable stew.
"So stubborn." she groaned playfully.
He replied by merely sticking his tongue out at her. So she reached over and pushed him, causing him to roll on to the ground.
"Hey!" he exclaimed.
"That's what you get." she replied and stuck her own tongue out at him.
Laughing, he quickly sat up and lightly pushed her. She was prepared though and caught herself from falling over. Then she stood up and darted away when he tried pushing her again.
"Can't catch me!" she teased.
Instantly he stood up and smirked at her. "Want to bet?"
She stared at him for a moment before blurting out, "No." Then they both burst out laughing.
"Okay, okay." Yongguk declared as he knelt back down. "Truce."
She eyed him suspiciously, which made him laugh some more, before giggling and walking back over to him. She knelt down and moved the soil away from a carrot to see that it was ripe. As she worked on pulling it out of the ground, she remembered about her grabbing him during what breakfast.
"What were you thinking about?" she asked him. "When we were eating."
He paused and blinked at her for a bit before shaking his head. "Just about the dog tags."
She stopped and turned her attention to him. "You didn't have to leave it there." she said, feeling a little guilty. It was the only clue he had about his past after all.
"It's fine." he quickly asserted. "I trust you with it."
Hearing those words made her heart flutter again today and she let out a breath of relief.
"I was thinking more about that word on them." he elaborated. "Shishimato."
"Oh." she uttered.
He shrugged his shoulders and pulled a carrot out of the ground. "Just a weird word."
"Yeah." she agreed and turned away. She grabbed ahold of her own carrot tightly and tugged, working it loose. "Shishimato. Shi-shi-ma-to." she muttered, thinking out loud and stressing the different syllables. The carrot finally came out and she brushed some of the dirt of it. "Shishi-mato. Shishi. Mato."
"This enough?"
She broke out of her thoughts and glanced in to the metal bowl. "Yeah. This should be good."
Yongguk smiled and stood up. He started putting the net back over the plants and made sure the prongs were firmly in the ground.
She tossed the carrot in her hand in to the bowl before standing up. She went to a different section and secured the meshing over it. "We should see about doing some planting." she commented. "Plant a few more carrots maybe and see about doing cucumbers too." She straightened and turned around. Then she inhaled sharply.
Yongguk was standing with the metal bowl in his hands and looking down. She could tell though that he wasn't really 'looking'. That he was zoned out again.
"Yongguk." she whispered and went over to him. She slowly brought her hand up in front of his face but he didn't react. Dropping her hand, she swallowed and felt her eyes watering. "Oh Yongguk." Then she reached to grab him before quickly stopping as her eyes widened in surprise.
He lifted his head to look at her, his eyes still having a dreamy look to them. "Shishi."
"Wha.."
"My name is Shishimato. They called me Shishi." he continued.
She gasped, realizing that he had remembered something. "Who?"
He opened his mouth but no sound came out. Instead, he blinked rapidly and shook his head slightly. Then he suddenly squeezed his eyes shut and he dropped the metal bowl as his hands grabbed his head. "Ahhhh!" he cried out and fell to his knees.
Jisun jumped and gaped at him in shock. Then another pain filled cry came from him and she fell to her knees as well. "Yongguk!" She grabbed his shoulders and felt his body shaking. Which made her own body tremble as panic seized. "I... I'm gonna call for help." she declared and went to stand.
"Don't!" he exclaimed and grabbed her with one hand. "Don't leave me."
She froze, her heart breaking in two between wanting to stay and wanting to get him help.
"Please don't leave me." he begged, his voice cracking.
"I... I won't." she answered. She wrapped her arms around him, holding him tightly and rocking a little to soothe him.

After a while, Yongguk pulled away and mumbled that his head didn't hurt anymore. That didn't make her feel any better though. "This isn't normal." she declared, doing everything she could to steady her voice. "Please let me get you some help."
He lifted is head to look at her. There was no mistaking the fear in his eyes.
"Please." she pleaded before he could protest. "I'll stay with you the whole time. I won't let anything happen to you. But you need help." Then she held her breath and waited.
He his lips and swallowed before looking down. Then he slowly nodded. "Alright."
Relief flooded through her. "Thank you."
He leaned forward again, laying his head on her shoulder. "Can it wait till tomorrow?" he questioned. "Can I stay with you today?"
She wanted to argue with him and drive him to the hospital today. But if he was willing to compromise, then so could she. "Okay. But you're taking it easy today. Meaning I'm cooking and you're staying on the couch."
A soft chuckle escaped from him, his breath tickling her neck a little. "Yes ma'am."
She allowed a tiny smile on her face and she reached up to run her hand through his hair. Then her smile grew when she realized his hair smelled like strawberries. "Come on." She stood and grabbed his hand, tugging him up.
"What about the vegetables?" he asked as he got to his feet.
She surveyed the ground and the vegetables that had spilled from the bowl when he dropped them. "I'll get them in a bit." Then she lead him away and towards the house.
He followed her willingly, taking his shoes off in the mud room. Then they went to the living room where he plopped down on the couch. She went over and turned the tv on before setting the remote by him.
She eyed him for a brief moment before leaving the room. She went back outside and over to the garden. Sudden movement made her jump until she realized what it was. A small rabbit darted away from the garden and disappeared in to the forest.
"And there's the culprit." she sighed and continued forward. She found the vegetables on the ground including a carrot that had been nibbled on. She tossed it towards the forest, letting the little critter keep it. Then she carried the bowl over to the hose to give the vegetables a good washing.

The rest of the day passed by without any more incidents. Yongguk stayed on the couch and watched more of the war movies. Jisun stayed with him, only leaving his side long enough to make them lunch and then dinner. Which they ate in the living room.
Yongguk attempted a few jokes and some teasing, bringing a few smiles to her face. It only helped a little though. She was too worried about him and anxiously wanted the day to end. The sooner tomorrow came, the sooner she could get him some help.
There was something that did help her relax a little though. He would hold her hand at every chance, sometimes even tracing his fingers over her skin. Somehow his touch always helped calm her, including the knowledge that he always came back from her touch. As long as she held his hand, he couldn't leave in the first place.
The movie came to an end and Yongguk yawned. "I think I'm ready for bed."
Jisun glanced at the clock and realized that it was late. "Yeah." She stood and went over to the entertainment stand. She took the dvd out of the player and put it back in its case before turning everything off. Then she put the dvd back on the shelf. "We should go to the hospital in the morning." she told him. "After breakfast."
She turned around and felt her heart skip a beat. Then a sickening feeling spread through her stomach. He was looking in her direction but he wasn't seeing her. He was staring off at nothing again.
"Not again." she quietly whined. She went over to him and reached for his arm. As soon as she touched him, he jerked back.
"Where am I?" he asked as he stood up and backed away from her.
Her eyes widened in surprise. "Yongguk?"
He frantically glanced around the room. "I... I don't know..."
"It's okay." she softly told him, willing herself to remain calm and slowly moved closer to him. "You're.."
He winced and brought a hand up to his head. "Why did they do it?"
She stopped her approach and raised her eyebrows. "What?"
He didn't answer as he looked around the room again, his eyes full of fear. His breathing came faster and faster, close to hyperventilating.
Before he could react, she hurried over and threw her arms around him. She held on to him tightly as he stiffened and tried to pull away. Then she felt him slowly put his arms around her.
"Jisun?"
She pulled away just enough to look at him. He was staring at her in confusion. "You were..." she started before trailing off.
Realization replaced confusion and then turned in to guilt. "It happened again."
"Yeah." she confessed.
He pressed his lips together and glanced away. "I'm sorry." he uttered.
She watched him for a bit and then took a deep breath. "We're going to the hospital first thing in the morning."
His gaze flickered back to her and he nodded. "Yeah."
She let out her breath and forced a small smile on her face to reassure him. "Now, let's get to bed and get some sleep." she said, even though she knew she wouldn't be able to sleep tonight.