let me out ;; markhyuck

vier

"Mark, we need to go see Dr Han."

Mark was a sobbing mess as he sat on his bed. His eyes were red and his glasses were on the dressing table, as he was unable to wear them at that moment. He had tear stains on his cheeks as well — an absolute mess. "I don't want to go! I don't like doctors!"

"Mark, come on! It's just one visit!" Donghyuck exclaimed, frustration lacing his voice. "Dr Han just wants to talk to you."

Mark shook his head wildly. "No! He's going to take Minyong away!"

Donghyuck became frustrated. "Minyong isn't real! Now come, we have to go."

Mark still sobbed. "I don't want him to leave. Minyong is my friend... h-he was there..."

Donghyuck sat beside him. "I'm your friend, Mark. He isn't better than me, right? Minyong is… well…" He sighed heavily. "He's waiting for you at Dr Han."

"Is he at Dr Han?" Mark mumbled, finally wiping his eyes.

Donghyuck nodded. "Now let's go, he's waiting for you."

Mark stood up, his expression rather dazed. "I want cereal."

•

"Okay, I'm going to say 5 words, and you need to repeat them back to me. If you mix up the order, that's fine."

Mark nodded. "Okay."

Donghyuck was worried. "Family. Car. Smile. Friend. Mother."

Mark was silent for a moment. "Car. Family. Mother. Friend. Smile."

Dr Han wrote down something. "That's very good. Could you tell me the word that seems the most important to you?"

Mark was quiet again. "Friend."

"Who's your friend?"

"Dongie."

"Only Dongie?"

"No, and Jisung. And everyone else at home. Uhm… I don't remember their names."

"You remember Donghyuck?"

Mark nodded with a smile. "He's my best friend."

"Why do you like Donghyuck?"

Mark thought for a bit. "Donghyuck?"

"Yes."

"Donghyuck was there for a long time. I can't forget him. I love Dongie," Mark nodded.

Dr Han hummed. "Do you love him?"

Mark nodded, a smile on his face. "I love Dongie so much."

Dr Han wrote more things down. "Mark, who is Minyong?"

"He's my friend. He visits sometimes and tells me what to do. But then he said I should put my hoody on upside down and then he ran away."

Dr Han raised an eyebrow, thinking about what Mark had just said. "How did you meet Minyong?"

"I saw him in the car, then I spoke with him. I don't remember when I met him."

"Mark, do you know why are you here?"

Mark shrugged. "No... I don't know."

•

Donghyuck sighed. "The weather got pretty bad."

"Can we go outside?" Mark asked, looking up from his gaze on the floor.

"Maybe. For a walk," Donghyuck nodded. He held his hand out and Mark took it. He pulled him up from the bed and put Mark's jacket on for him.

"Where are we going?" Mark asked.

"To the park," Donghyuck answered.

"Is this my jacket?" Mark asked, pointing at the padded jacket upon his body. Donghyuck nodded and zipped up his jacket. He took Mark's hand and they walked downstairs.

"We won't be long," Donghyuck announced loudly enough for their friends to hear. He got no response, but he figured that they heard him. The two stepped into the chilly weather.

"It's cold," Mark muttered as he looked up at the clouded sky. "It wasn't this cold yesterday."

"You remembered yesterday's weather?" Donghyuck asked.

Mark sighed, his breath visible due to the cold temperature. "It was warmer than this. I didn't have to wear a jacket."

Donghyuck smiled. "I'm glad you remembered."

Mark grinned brightly as he nodded. "I remembered."

"Do you know what season it is?"

"It's spring."

"That's right. Do you know the date?"

Mark shook his head. "Nope."

Donghyuck chuckled. "It's the 6th of March."

"Where are we going?" Mark asked.

"We are going to the park," Donghyuck replied. "Try to remember — we are going to the park."

Mark nodded. "The park. Donghyuck and Mark are going to the park. They are going to the park."

Donghyuck smiled. "It's good that you're trying to remember."

Mark smiled as he looked at Donghyuck's hand which was intertwined was his own. He pulled the male closer to his side and put his head on Donghyuck's shoulder.

"I love you, Dongie."

Donghyuck smiled softly. "I love you too, Mark."

"Dongie?"

"Yes, Mark?"

"Aren't you older than me?"

Donghyuck shook his head. "No, you're older than me."

Mark grinned. "I'm your hyung. But why are you looking after me? I should care for you."

Donghyuck smiled softly. "I look after you because I care about you Mark — because I love you."

"But you suddenly came out of nowhere — how could you care about me so quickly?"

Donghyuck shook his head. "It doesn't matter. Where are we going, Mark?"

"We are going," Mark began confidently, "to... to the... uhm... to the... uh... I forgot."

Donghyuck sighed with a heavy smile, shaking his head. "We're going to the park."

•

"It's important that he starts recalling as many things as possible. We're quite sure he could pick up memories from a year ago."

Donghyuck nodded. "I'll try to get him to remember."

"Remember to keep him busy," Dr Han added.

"I try to keep him busy, but the weather became really bad recently and activities in the chalet are limited. I get him to draw often to keep his mind busy, but it often drifts away and stares out the window," Donghyuck said. "Mark is too young to go through all of this. He deserves treatment. He forgot where we were going yesterday about 3 times on the way to the park. That accident wasn't his fault, yet he suffers the most."

"Yes, and we're trying our best to fix up his life. By recalling some memories, his mild amnesia will slowly dissipate," Dr Han said. "The short-term memory loss can only be resolved with practice at remembering. Repeating details so that they will be engraved into his mind will help. The accident damaged him, and we're doing our best."

"But why does he see things? Why does he see people that don't exist? Was it that bad?" Donghyuck demanded.

Dr Han sighed. "You have to keep in mind that he has severe brain damage that won't be easy to resolve. Lost brain cells are lost forever, we can't bring them back. The medication will help control this temporary schizophrenia."

Donghyuck looked down at his lap. "It's becoming worse. Please, Dr Han, help him."

The man showed a hopeful smile. "We're doing our best. Hopefully, he gets approved for neurosurgery."