𝓦𝓱𝓸 𝓐𝓻𝓮 𝓨𝓸𝓾? - 𝓡𝓮𝓷𝓱𝔂𝓾𝓬𝓴

五 (Five)

Later that morning, Mrs. Lee came to pick Haechan up. As soon as Haechan saw his mother's car, he turned to Renjun.

"Call me if you need anything, alright? I'll be over in a heartbeat."

Renjun nodded. "You don't have to worry about me, Haechannie. I have my mom to take care of me."

"And I have no doubts she'll take amazing care of you." said Haechan, smiling over at Ms. Huang. "I have to go now, okay?"

Renjun waved, subconsciously grinning. "Bye, Haechannie."

Haechan waved back as he stepped into the early spring air. His mother wore a small smile from the driver's seat of the car.

"How was it?" she asked, once Haechan had slid into the backseat.

"It was great." said Haechan. "He's such an angel, just like always."

Mrs. Lee took a deep breath, preparing herself for what she was about to ask. "Sweetheart, how do you feel about Renjun?"

Haechan frowned. "What do you mean?"

"You seem to have... a gravitational pull towards him. And I know you're best friends, but I've noticed something I haven't when you're with your other friends. You remind me of me and your father."

"I..." Haechan's voice trailed off. The more he thought about it, the more he realized his mother had a point. He had his other friends, but Renjun was different. When he was Renjun, he felt safer than ever. Maybe it was just Renjun's natural angelic aura, but... what if it wasn't? What if it was something much, much more?

He shook away those thoughts. "It'll never happen, Eomma. He feels a bit distant from me, seeing as he's technically meeting me for the first time. We both know that isn't the truth, but..."

"I see." frowned Mrs. Lee, deep in thought. "Well, all I can say is this; do what you think is best. Follow your heart. If you feel a connection, go for it. And if that doesn't work... some things are out of our control, I guess."

***

Mrs. Lee's words lingered on Haechan's mind for the rest of the ride. Was Renjun really more than a friend to him? It was a huge decision. The answer could change their entire lives.

By the time they arrived at the house, Haechan was still lost in his thoughts. His mother had to say his name multiple times before he came back to reality.

His younger siblings met him at the door. He had to admit, he'd missed them. Haeyoung, his oldest younger sibling and only sister had grown a bit taller than the boys, having hit puberty before them, and she was extremely happy about it. Haemin was his older younger brother, and his hair was a bit messy, probably from just getting out of bed. And then the youngest, Haejun, hung onto Haeyoung's arm, being the clingy six-year-old he was.

"Oppa, you've barely been home." pouted Haeyoung. "It's been so quiet."

Haechan chuckled and ruffled the twelve-year-old girl's hair. "I had to take care of Renjunnie. He's just been discharged, so he still needs help with some things."

"Did you help him shower?" giggled ten-year-old Haemin playfully.

Haeyoung smacked him in the arm. "Shut up, Haejunnie can hear you!"

At that moment, Haechan realized how much he missed home - yes, even Haeyoung and Haemin's constant bickering. While Renjun needed him, his siblings needed him, too. His parents were often busy at the company, leaving Haeyoung in charge. And while Haeyoung was plenty responsible enough, he felt it was too much pressure for such a young girl.

"That's beside the point." said Haechan.

"So he did." smirked Haemin.

Haeyoung rolled her eyes. "Appa's at the company again. Eomma made bibimbap before she left, it should still be warm."

"Thank you, Eomma." said Haechan, turning to his mother and bowing gratefully before bolting inside.

Mrs. Lee smiled after him. "Shoes, Lee Haechan!"

"Oh, right." said Haechan, turning around to take his shoes off. It'd been so long since he'd been in the house, he'd almost forgotten all the rules.

Although he usually followed the household rules, he thought it was all ridiculous. He didn't care much for rules; he just wanted a simple life with a simple-minded person. And there was definitely one person he could think of.

As he turned back to the kitchen, he nearly ran into the maid, Myunghee. Myunghee was a kind woman, and she often brought her son, Mark, over.

"Oh, sorry, Eommanim." said Haechan, making sure to bow politely as he said it. "Is Mark-hyung here?"

Myunghee shook her head. "He had to go off to school. How's Renjun doing?"

"Pretty well. He still needs some help with things, though." said Haechan. "His body's extremely weak from being in a coma for seven years. Oh, and he lost his memory."

Myunghee nodded sympathetically. "He doesn't remember you at all?"

"No... well, yes, actually. When he first woke up, he was calling my name... all he remembers is the day of the crash." said Haechan, shivering at the memory. "Other than that... he remembers himself, and that's about it."

"That's unfortunate." frowned Myunghee. "But he let you stay with him?"

"Yeah. He knows we were best friends, even if he doesn't remember it. It's obvious he feels a bit uncomfortable, but that's natural."

Myunghee nodded in agreement. "The best advice I can give you is to be there for him. He'll surely have lots of ups and downs- this is a rough time for him. What he needs most is someone to rely on. And there's no better contestant than you, Haechan."

Haechan smiled. "Thanks, Eommanim. I'll do my best to be there for him."

"I know you will." grinned Myunghee proudly. "You're such a good boy, Haechan. Your mom raised you right."

"Thanks." grinned Haechan.

"No problem." said Myunghee. "Why don't you go eat then, since you're in such a hurry?"

She chuckled at Haechan and went off to do her maid things, leaving the younger to his bibimbap.

***

Renjun lay awake that night, staring at the ceiling. He couldn't sleep at all. He wasn't sure if it was because of his body's condition, or because he was afraid, but he definitely knew one thing - he would need something to hold.

It was a habit of his. He supposed he'd been alright the night before because Haechan was there to be his life-sized teddy bear in human form, but now that he was alone, his arms longed to have something to wrap around.

So he stood up with all the energy and strength he could muster and walked over to the closet. Surely he had to have something, right? Apparently, this was a habit of his before the crash...

After digging through the mess of clothes and blankets, he found two plushies; a bear and a fox. They seemed to be... hugging? Huh, what a coincidence...

Somehow, he felt a connection with them, even if he couldn't remember them. He wondered what significance they held in his life. They were just plushies, right? No big deal.

Miraculously, he managed to carry the plushies to his bed without dropping them. He climbed into bed with his shaky limbs and hugged the plushies tightly. He had no idea why they were so important to him, but... at least they were cute.