let me out ;; markhyuck

drie

"Mark, you're back. Do you remember me?"

Mark stared at the man for a bit. "Dr Han?"

The doctor smiled. "Yes, that's right. Come, sit down here."

Mark hopped onto the hospital bed and swung his feet back and forth in a childish manner, as he always did. Donghyuck sat on a seat beside the hospital bed and held Mark's hand, which was something he did often.

"Donghyuck said you remembered something," Dr Han smiled. "Can you tell me what you remembered?"

Mark stopped swinging his legs. "Uhm… parents. And… a lot of yelling."

The doctor hummed. "You remember your parents?" Mark fell silent and stared out the window. "Mark. Over here, buddy."

The man clicked his fingers, which caught Mark's attention. "Huh? Doctor?"

"It's happening more often nowadays," Donghyuck told him with a worried tone. "He'd remember nothing. Earlier, I asked him to take the pills. After some disagreement, he said he'd take the pills. But on our way to the kitchen, he fought back. He didn't want to."

"It's getting worse," the doctor sighed. Dr Han picked up a notebook and pen and gave them to Mark so that he could occupy himself. "Unfortunately, we can't do anything about the short-term memory loss. Has he had complaints about the voices recently?"

"No, fortunately," Donghyuck shook his head.

"That's good. Keep him busy, but keep him in a stable environment. Nature is a good place for him to be. And never leave him unattended, please."

"He's remembering things quite well now, but he forgets them quickly too," Donghyuck said. "And I'll never let go of him. I've never broken a promise in my life."

Dr Han smiled. "You're a good friend to him, even if you're not r—"

"I am his friend. I care about him. Previous circumstances are null and void now."

"I want cereal," Mark mumbled as he wrote in the book. "Apple Jacks. Half a bowl. 4 teaspoons of sugar, one and a half glasses of lukewarm milk."

"Oh, you remembered," Donghyuck smiled. "You're getting better, huh?"

Mark smiled. "I remembered Apple Jacks."

"He needs to recall memories. He needs to try and recall as many memories as possible. Keep him busy so that he doesn't lose track of things. If he does, then he becomes forgetful."

"I will," Donghyuck nodded. "And he hasn't cried in nights, which I'm proud of. The trick is to hold his hand before he falls asleep."

"His methods of coping are quite affectionate, aren't they?" Dr Han raised an eyebrow.

"He's forgetful, but the one thing he doesn't forget is to say 'I love you, Dongie'," Donghyuck smiled. "Honestly, I love him too. I don't care about his mental state anymore — I just want to be with Mark."

"Dongie," Mark smiled, putting his head against Donghyuck's for a moment. "I drew a penguin, but now it looks like a chicken. It's too fat."

Donghyuck looked over at the book. "It looks good, though."

Mark looked at him. "What looks good?"

"Your penguin," Donghyuck said, pointing at the notebook.

Mark stared back at the notebook for a bit. "I drew that?"

"Yes you did," the younger nodded.

Mark looked down sadly, his expression turning blue. He looked crestfallen. "I forgot again, didn't I...? I'm so stupid...!"

"Markie, no, don't say that," Donghyuck gasped, quickly standing up and hugged Mark tightly. "It's not your fault. Don't worry about it, angel. It's not your fault you didn't remember."

"But it is," Mark muttered to himself. "I… I…" He pulled away from the hug, a sudden smile on his face. "Oh, hello, Dr Han."

Dr Han simpered at those words. "Hello, Mark. Did you take your medicine?"

"I don't like them," Mark replied. "The medicine doesn't want me to be with Hyuckie. They changed me so I can't be with Hyuckie."

"I told him that the medicine doesn't let me love him," Donghyuck explained. "Mark has such an innocent mind now. Things have really changed over these 2 years. Even if I was just used as a pseudo-friend, I've grown attached to him. It's not only taking care of him."

"That's very good," Dr Han nodded.

Donghyuck smiled and ruffled Mark's dark hair. The older smiled as well and put the notebook down. "Dongie, I want cereal."

"We can buy some on the way home," Donghyuck said. "Thank you for listening, Dr Han. No extra medication?"

"His medication will be delivered tomorrow, don't worry," Dr Han nodded. "It's good that you're coming to me when he remembers something important. Especially the crucial information of things before the accident."

"Was there an accident?" Mark asked in a shocked tone.

"No one was hurt, don't worry," Donghyuck said. He stood up from the seat. "Bow to Dr Han."

Mark nodded, doing as the younger told him. "Bye bye~"

Dr Han smiled, tipping his head as well. "Goodbye, Mark."

•

Mark looked at the cereal boxes, humming to himself in thought. "Hmm... which one...?"

"Apple Jacks," Donghyuck replied. "You wanted Apple Jacks."

Mark jumped in realization. "Apple Jacks!"

Donghyuck took a box of the cereal and took Mark's hand as they went to pay for it. Mark stared at their intertwined hands and smiled.

"I love you, Dongie," he smiled.

Donghyuck laughed ever so slightly as he nodded. "I love you too, Mark."

"Four sugars, half a bowl, one and a half glasses of milk."

"That's very good," Donghyuck nodded.

"Minyongie visited me this morning," Mark said suddenly, looking away as he browsed the other shelves.

Donghyuck stopped walking. "Minyong?"

Mark nodded, looking back at Donghyuck with a smile. "He helped me wake up and he told me a lot of jokes."

Donghyuck bit his lip. "Minyong…"

•

"Hello?"

"Hi, Dr Han?"

"Donghyuck. It's rather late."

"11 pm, I know. Mark is asleep. While we were shopping, he spoke about Minyong."

Dr Han sighed. "Bring him to the clinic tomorrow. I'll have a talk with him."