amnesia || renmin au

twenty one

Jaemin ran out of his last period class as soon as the bell rang. He contemplated which direction he should go, if he should search the other corridor again or go to Jeno's locker. Deciding to switch it up this time he dashed down the halls to where Jeno's locker was. He paused for a moment to let more students come out of their classes then looked around for a mop of black hair.

Soon, he spotted Jeno followed by the blond haired boy who were walking together, deep in discussion. What about the other? Jaemin watched at from the emptier side of the hall as the two packed their stuff and exited the school. Soon the hallways emptied out, leaving Jaemin almost alone. Did the other boy already go home? Jaemin heaved a frustrated sigh. Why was this so hard?

"Jaemin...?"

Jaemin whipped his head around at the sound of his name being called and saw, behind him, the one boy he had been searching for.

He looked smaller than usual, his winter jacket loosely thrown on him and still unzipped making him seem like he was being engulfed by it. His black hair was slightly messy and he wore a dark shirt and jeans. His backpack hung loosely from one shoulder.

Jaemin stared for a long time, absorbing every detail of this boy that looked as familiar as his own face but new and foreign at the same time.

The boy cleared his throat, breaking Jaemin out of his daze. "Let's go somewhere, I'm sure you have questions."

-

They were seated at the nearby cafe, and both boys had ordered warm drinks before finding a seat near the corner. The boy was not as confident as he tried to look; Jaemin noticed the slight tremor in his hands as he picked up his hot chocolate and the way he couldn't seem to meet Jaemin's gaze, like he was afraid.

"I don't know where to start," Jaemin said, trying to start the conversation. "I... can you tell me something?"

The boy opened his mouth slightly in attempt to respond but no words came out, so he closed his mouth and took another shaky sip of his drink.

Jaemin looked down at his drink. "So uhh... I don't know how much you know but I was in an accident. And I lost my memories of the past five to six years. I'm kind of really confused and want to try and figure out what I've forgotten?"

There was still silence on the other end. The boy continued to sip at his hot chocolate, and frankly Jaemin couldn't tell if he was even listening. Still, he went on.

"But then I thought you might know something that could help me because I got a flash of a memory of us when we bumped into each other. Jeno told me though that you might not open up easily? I guess this is what he meant." Jaemint tilted his head to the side. "Did he tell you I was looking for you?"

"He did," the boy said quietly. He brought his cup away from his lips so that his voice would come out clearer and Jaemin leaned in to hear better.

"I think it's best that you don't remember."

Jaemin paused for a moment in confusion, then snapped. "What do you mean it's best for me to not remember? I want to remember! What's so bad about my past that no one wants to tell me anything? My grandparents won't talk about it and you're being so cryptic with all this 'you shouldn't remember your past' bullshit?" he pleaded. "Please, Injun."

Jaemin heard the sound of a gasp as the boy reacted to the sound of his name being called. Jaemin's eyes widened, trying to comprehend what he just said.

"How—" the boy started, staring right at Jaemin, but Jaemin's eyelids squeezed shut as he stared back into another memory.