The Artist Behind |Seongjoong|

13

Hongjoong:

I sat there, watching and listening to the men around me. With every passing minute, I was getting more and more confused. They tried to tell me more about myself, yet it felt as talking about a stranger. Not even a word of it all was familiar to me. And they knew it, could tell from their worried faces. I got so frustrated, but what could I do when I had no idea who I was?" I think it will be better if he stays with me," dad said to Seonghwa, my supposed boyfriend. That suggestion made him tense up and got that anxious look all over his face, but he agreed. However, he agreed with him. Does he love me enough to get all anxious? I thought while looking at his rather beautiful face. If he was my lover, he could be considered for a good catch. At least visually. Anyways. Seonghwa came closer to me, attempting to hug me. I pulled away. The idea of being touched was repulsing. That was something I remembered. His face darkened as if he got stabbed. For some reason, my heart ached at the sight of him.

"I'll go get your stuff," he said with a quiet voice. Our friends shared pitiful looks.

...

We arrived at our apartment. The place felt distant and cold to me. Is this my home? Well, I could remember nothing, so maybe it was my imagination. Yeah, probably it was that.

"This is our vacant home. We don't live here," he explained, leading me to one of the bedrooms, probably my room."Still, I tried to make your room like the one at home."

And it did give off the feeling of comfort and familiarity. Cozy colourful walls. And furniture in yellow, red and orange met me when I walked in. A big bed with tie-died bedsheets stood near the window. A big desk covered in art materials stood close by. Even the smell of lavender and roses in the air, this painfully well-known environment made me ache deep inside. I walked to the desk looking over the sketchbooks, most were new, though there was one standing out. It had an old leather cover. Too old to be mine. I opened it looking over the pages. It wasn't mine, but I knew it. I had seen it before.

"Who's this?" I asked the man standing in front of me. He showed a sad, nostalgic expression.

"It was your uncle's. He died before you were born," his voice had this hurt sense to it. "But you know, the two of you are surprisingly similar," he smiled softly, making me feel uncomfortable.

So I was similar to a dead man I had never met? Just great! That wasn't creepy at all. And I didn't sense shivers down my spine, not in any case.

"Anyways, rest some cause later we are going out," he told me, patting my head. That gesture of his felt warm and familiar. Guess he did it a lot before I lost my memories.

"Why?" I asked, confused. It wasn't like I wanted to spend the whole time stuck in here. Still, it was weird.

"We didn't find your phone, I'll get you a new one. And I'm not a good cook, so eating out is better, isn't it?" he smiled. I nodded, understanding. After that, he left me in my colourful room by myself. I started looking around to pass some time.

...

As dad said, we went out a couple of hours later. And we did what he told me, at first. We went for a new phone. He picked up one of the most expensive androids there. There the staff did all matters related to it and gave me the phone, which was a little big for my hand. And I thought that would be all before we go for dinner, yet it wasn't. We stopped by Seonghwa's place, taking him with us. I felt awkward once again. I knew he was my boyfriend before, but now I felt nothing towards him.

We sat down in the western-styled restaurant, and a pretty waitress gave us menus. I stared at it, trying to understand anything of it. I didn't know any of those western dishes. Soon Seonghwa noticed my struggle. He leaned towards me, looking over my shoulder. That made me a little cautious, yet I stayed still in my spot.

"You liked a lot the carbonara pasta before," he said softly in my ear, sending shivers down my spine. I nodded.

After some time, we ate what we had ordered, well, Seonghwa had to get it for me because I couldn't pronounce the name. It hurt my pride. Still, I thanked him and quietly ate my food. It was delicious! I couldn't stop myself from eating. The two men watched me with love in their eyes. They didn't even nag me when I got some sauce on my cheek. Just Hwa wiped it gently off of my face.

By the end of our meal, dad got up, making an excuse he had to take a work call, leaving us alone. At first, it was weird, but I used the opportunity to ask Seonghwa some stuff.

"Can I ask you something?" I asked him. He immediately nodded. "Looks like I have forgotten how to use my phone too," I admitted blushing in Ruby red.

To my surprise, he didn't laugh or anything. He just came closer to me and took my phone in hand. It looked a lot better fit when he held it. Well, he started showing me around it. He even put the numbers of our friends in my kakaotalk. When Seonghwa finished, setting the info, he leaned closer to me, smoothly sliding his arm over my shoulders. That made my heart race, and my face turned Ruby once again.

"Look at the camera, Joongie," he whispered in my ear, making me feel butterflies in my stomach. The very next moment, he took a photo of us, placing it as home screen wallpaper. Then he returned my phone. I stared at the photo, unable to believe what he had just done. Before I could say anything, dad came back smiling nervously. He told us it was time to go and apologized to Seonghwa.

...

I lay down in my bed, gazing at the photo from earlier. Why are you making me like this? I thought. Maybe the feelings I had for him in the past were slowly returning. Or was I falling under the spell of his charm? No, that wasn't possible, was it? I knew nothing about him after all. Burdened with those thoughts, I fell asleep.