Chapter 15

A Brand New Heart 

Author’s POV:

“Do I know you?”

Jungkook, whose face was previously filled with joy, was shocked. What did he say again? Did he ask me if he knows me? He must be kidding! Jungkook tried to convince himself that Jimin is only playing with him, so he just smiled and laughed. Jimin only looked more confused.

“Hey, what’s funny with my question? Who are you?” Jimin asked again. This time, Jungkook stopped laughing and looked at Jimin with hurt in his eyes. Jimin looked at Tae, who was also looking as shocked as he really was. “Who is this person?” Jimin asked Tae.

Jungkook couldn’t take it anymore. He just wanted to disappear. He wanted the earth to swallow him right there, on the spot. He stood up, and walked out of the room. No correct me, he RAN out of the room. Jin, seeing Jungkook run to the outside, decided to follow him to make sure he’s safe and alright.

Meanwhile, in the hospital room, Jimin kept looking around, scanning the faces of the members around him. All of them looked shocked. Why the hell do they look like that? Jimin asked to himself.

“Hey, guys! Aren’t you glad that I’m awake?” Jimin asked. “What’s with the shocked face? Aren’t you expecting me to wake up?” Jimin continued and smile to the other members.  Finally, Hoseok was able to speak.

“Hey, Jimin, don’t you really remember him?” He asked. Jimin paused for a moment as he tried to dig into his memories. After a few moments, Jimin shook his head.

“You mean you don’t remember Jungkook?” Tae asked. Jimin sighed.

“I said I don’t remember him. I don’t remember any person name Jungkook. I don’t even remember how I got hospitalized in the first place!” Jimin explained. All the members in the room just stared at him with disbelief.

“Wait here, I’ll call the doctor.” Namjoon said as he left the room to go to the Jimin’s doctor.

“Anyway. Jimin, does anything hurt?” Yoongi asked.

“Well, my legs kinda hurt a little, but it’s nothing to worry about. I guess I was asleep for too long that my lack of jogging has gotten into my legs already.” Jimin explained. “Really, how long have I’ve been sleeping?” Jimin asked.

“About a week, hyung.” Tae answered. “All of us were so worried. We’re glad you’re finally awake.” He continued. Jimin just smiled at Tae. After a few moments of silence, a loud grumbling sound was heard in the room. The members looked around to find the source, until Jimin spoke.

“Uhmmm guys… I think I need some food. I’m a bit hungry.” Jimin admitted, making the other member smile.

Namjoon continued to hurry down the halls of the big building until he found the doctor.

“Doc, Jimin just woke up.” Namjoon said while trying to catch his breath.

“Ok, let’s go.” The doctor suggested. The two of them returned to the hospital room.

When they got inside, the doctor immediately performed a physical check up on Jimin. He first checked his head if he had hemorrhage, then checked for fractures in the arms. He then check the ribs and spinal column. Lastly, he checked Jimin’s legs.

“I suggest that when he can, he should do some regular jogging and brisk walking to regain the strength of his legs. Other than that, he’s alright. He’s lucky he can still perform after about a week of recovery.” The doctor explained. He was about to leave when Tae called him.

“Doc, there’s also something.” Tae said. The members looked at Tae, and then understood what he meant.

“When Jimin woke up, he couldn’t remember one of our members – Jungkook. What happened?” Yoongi asked. The doctor looked at them, silent, in deep thought. After a few moments, he invited the group to settle down.

“It seems that Mr. Park Jimin has incurred a condition called selective amnesia.” The doctor started. The members started murmuring with each other.

“Doc, what’s selective amnesia?” Hoseok asked.

“In selective amnesia, the patient will experience forgetting some of his or her memories, just like how ordinary amnesia works. The difference is, he or she will only forget memories related to a certain thing, event, or person – in the patient’s case, he forgot about Jungkook.” The doctor explained. All the members looked depressed but enlightened.

“But doc, why would he forget about Jungkook, but not us?” Namjoon asked.

The doctor thought for a moment before starting to explain again. “There are only two reasons as to why a person would incur selective amnesia. The first one is that the person himself wants to forget whatever he or she forgot. This means that is the first reason holds true for Mr. Park, it means that he wants to forget Jungkook.” The doctor explained. The members looked at each other upon hearing the doctor’s explanation. They were thinking about the same thing – Jimin may have wanted to forget about Jungkook.

“How about the second possible reason?” Jimin asked. The members all looked shocked when they heard Jimin talk. It is only then they realized Jimin was also listening.

“Well, Mr. Park, the second possible reason is that during the time of the accident, you may be thinking if Jungkook. Before the car hit you, your mind might be focused on a memory of Jungkook, that when the car hit you, the memories of him, and only him, were erased.” The doctor explained.

“Why would I want to forget about Jungkook? And why would I be thinking about him during the time of the accident.” Jimin asked. The members, especially Tae, swallowed hard when they heard Jimin’s question.

“That I don’t know. But you can still regain the memories, though.” The doctor explained.

“How?” Tae asked, even before Jimin opened his mouth only to ask the same question. The other members are still dumbfounded.

“If the patient is exposed to things that represent certain events strongly, he or she might be able to remember eventually. For example, if Mr. Park had a memory of eating cheesecake with Jungkook, he might be able to remember some parts of his lost memory when he is exposed to the same scenario. Or if the event is retold in vivid details, it might also help regain the memories. The most effective way to make the memories come back is using emotional attachments. If certain events are linked to strong emotions, it will be easier for the patient to remember.” The doctor explained. The members sat down in silence, still trying to absorb the situation.

The doctor prepared to leave the room. Before exiting he talked to the group for the last time. “Mr. Park may be discharged tomorrow, or anytime he may want to. It seems that he is quickly recovering. Take care.” The doctor said.

“Thanks Doc, for all your help.” Namjoon said just before the door closed.

“So… what do we do now?” Jimin asked.

Jungkook rushed to the rooftop of the big hospital. “Why is he doing this to me? Is he really that mad? Does he really want to forget about me?” Jungkook asked to himself while running to climb the stairs to the rooftop. He was crying hard.  His eyes are flooded with tears, that he can’t see clearly the people that he runs past. Once he got to the rooftop, he headed to a corner, and collapsed both from the exhaustion and the overwhelming emotions he is feeling right now.

“What happened? I didn’t expect it to be like this!” Jungkook said himself while crying hard. “Jungkook, wake up! You’re just dreaming! Wake up from this nightmare!” Jungkook tried to convince himself that he was just dreaming. He tried slapping himself, pinching his arms, and even grabbing his own hair to wake himself up, but nothing happened. He was still in the rooftop, crying.

Jungkook was unable to take it anymore; he just let himself lie on the floor of the rooftop. He was crying hard. His whole body is shaking as he gasps desperately for air. He was there, rolled into a helpless crying mess, with the box in his arms, when Jin finally caught up with him.

“Jungkook wait! Where are you?” Jin shouted as he entered the rooftop. He scanned the rooftop for Jungkook. When he found him, he ran towards the poor creature.

“Jungkook! Oh my god, Jungkook! Are you alright?” Jin asked as he lifted Jungkook from the floor, which was wet with both sweat and tears. “Jungkook, shush… it’s ok… it’s ok.” Jin said as he tried to control Jungkook’s sobbing.

“No hyung! It’s not ok! It’s not ok! Jimin-hyung is mad with me, and he wants to forget about me!” Jungkook screamed in pain and anguish. He was crying really hard, and even Jin’s shirt was not spared from his tears.

“Jungkook, let’s give him some time… We can’t expect him to come right back to you after what happened.” Jin explained. Jungkook was a bit less loud now, but he was still shaking and crying very hard. Jin was doing a great job calming Jungkook down.

“Hyung, it hurts… it hurts like hell. He should’ve just said he hates me. He could’ve just told me it’s over. But not like this, hyung. Not like this. It’s like he threw my whole existence away!” Jungkook ranted. Jin was just listening.

“Jungkook, after … well… after what you did to him, doesn’t he get the right to do that?” Jin asked. Jungkook clam down a bit, his shaking is now less obvious. “I’m not saying that you deserve to be treated like this, but let’s face it Jungkook – whatever you are going through right now, Jimin also went through that same hurt when he was going after you. Remember how you insulted him before the accident? Well, you could’ve just talked to him properly. But what did you do? You sent him away with hurtful words.” Jin explained.

Jungkook stopped. He was till crying, but not that hard anymore. “You’re right hyung. I shouldn’t give up this easily. I sent him away a lot of times, but he never quit. It’s my turn now.” Jungkook said as he stood up and headed back downstairs, back to the room. Jin just trailed behind him. “Thanks, hyung. Thanks for reminding me of what I did to Jimin-hyung. Because of that, I felt more determined to withstand whatever retaliation Jimin-hyung will do to me.”

When they got to the room, the members are gathered around Jimin’s bed. Jimin was lying on the bed again. Jungkook looked at him, then at the other members. Noticing the tears on the cheeks of Jungkook, Tae came to him and gave him a hug.

“What happened?” Jin asked.

“Ah… nothing. Jimin slept again. He said he was feeling tired.” Namjoon explained. “Jungkook, I think we have something to talk about.” Namjoon said to Jungkook. All of the members except for Jimin went to the dining room to talk.

“Jungkook, how do you feel?” Namjoon asked.

“It hurts, hyung. It’s like Jimin-hyung is just throwing my whole existence away. Well, I deserve this.” Jungkook said.

“But it isn’t Jimin’s choice.” Yoongi said.

“What do you mean?” Jin asked. Jungkook looked with a confused face at Yoongi. Yoongi then poked at Hoseok.

“Oh, what we mean is, Jimin isn’t pretending to forget you, like what you thought. He forgot about you.” Hoseok explained.

“I’m very confused! What the hell are you saying?” Jungkook asked, with some hint of rage in his voice. Namjoon just sighed and decided to explain things thoroughly.

“Ok Jungkook, listen carefully. Jimin incurred a condition called selective amnesia. When a person has this, he or she forgets about a certain person or event. In this case, Jimin… well… forgot about you.” Namjoon explained. Jungkook calmed down and looks sad. He understood the situation.

“Why would he forget about me?” Jungkook asked weakly. He was starting to cry again.

“Well, the doctor said that it’s either he wanted to, or he was thinking about you when the accident happened.” Namjoon answered.

“Well, let’s hope that it would be the second one.” Yoongi said.

“Whatever the reason is, Jungkook, we should decide now.” Tae said to Jungkook, who looked at him with confusion.

“What do you mean, hyung? Decide on what?” Jungkook asked. Tae sighed before answering.

“We should decide whether we should try to restore his memories of you or not.” Tae answered. The other member just nodded on the topic.

Jungkook paused for some time and looked at the tiled floor of the dining room. He was in deep thought. The question is, should he just let Jimin forget about what happened in the past, or should he try to make Jimin remember everything?

“I suggest we don’t make him remember.” Tae spoke. “He will just get hurt again once he remembers everything. We don’t want him to be hurt again after what just happened to him. He’s been through a lot.” Tae explained. The members agreed. After some silence, Jungkook looked up and spoke.

“You know what, hyung, I think you are right.” Jungkook started. “He couldn’t go through the same hurt again. It will only break him.”

“But, Jungkook, how about you?” Jin asked.

“It’s ok with me. Maybe we started with the wrong foot. Now that we have a second chance for love, we should start all over again. Hyung has right now a brand new heart – and I’m not going to let that heart be hurt again.” Jungkook said. Tae came closer to him to hug him.

“Thanks, Jungkook, for thinking about Jimin-hyung’s feelings this time.” Tae said to Jungkook.

The members hugged Jungkook together to comfort him and wish him good luck on his love life. All of them were smiling together again after quite a long time. They were enjoying the closeness of the moment when they heard a call from the room.

“Hey guys! Where are you?” Jimin shouted. “Can you please fetch me some water?”

“Ok guys, that’s Jimin. Jungkook, are you ready to start again?” Jin asked. Jungkook nodded as he filled a glass with cold water. All six of them walked to Jimin together, with Jungkook in front, carrying the glass of water.

Jimin, upon seeing the other members, smiled brightly, making his eyes disappear into lines. It’s been some time since I last saw that in such a moment. Jungkook told himself. When they reached the bed, Jungkook handed the glass to Jimin.

“Thanks!” Jimin said brightly as he gulped the water that Jungkook gave to him down his throat.

Ok, Jungkook. Start off right. Jungkook said to himself.

“Hi, my name is Jeon Jungkook, you can call me Jungkook. Nice meeting you. You are?” Jungkook asked as he held his shaking hand out.

“Park Jimin. Nice to meet you too, Jeon Jungkook.” Jimin said as he smiled and took Jungkook’s hand for the first hand shake of their new start. 

Next update... it will be farther into the future... sorry! Love you guys! BTS has two new songs and started their concert again. :) Looking forward.

Anyways, happy reading!