Forget Me Not✓| Yoonmin(+18)

chapter five (part one)

I stare at tae, confused and a little guilty. "how do you even know all these things? You make me look bad! I can't even pronounce that vaccine's name!" he chuckles and puts the black sandpaper down, grabbing his phone. "you're not a bad parent just going through a lot and honestly I have too much free time now." I smile at him. "maybe you can build your dream house now."

Ever since tae and me became friends meeting in high school, he told me how he wanted to build a wooden house from scratch all by himself. He had sketches and plans ready and always worked on them although he couldn't see a future where he would actually have enough money and free time to do it.

He's now standing in his personal workshop, building anything he feels like and enjoying his time while he has workshops all over the country now, his ideas being made and sold in them. I remember a time where he worked all night, came to sleep beside a newborn joon and me, and wake up a few hours later to work again; he sold everything under their real price just so he could afford diapers and the rent and I was useless, sitting in a corner with my c-section stitches, only breastfeeding joon from time to time.

His eyes linger on me with a soft smile. "ever since you and little joon came along, it's a house I can share with you but...I guess I gotta change it now." I stay silent, not really knowing what's in store for our future. "where you are will always be home to us tae...you practically raised both of us on your own and..." my voice cracks, becoming emotional all of a sudden. His eyes widen. "are you crying?" I quickly wipe my face and smile again. "happy tears! Just happy I met you that day." He seems relieved now because he doesn't really do well with people crying in front of him. "and the first thing you did was throw up on my shoes." I laugh whole-heartedly remembering that. It feels good sitting beside the pool at one AM, talking to tae about the past we shared.

"I remember your face. How did you manage not to look disgusted? Seriously you're an angel tae." I make that remark sarcastically. He laughs and inspects the wooden piece he has in his hands. "Actually I was a little but I didn't wanna make you feel bad. You seemed embarrassed enough." I chuckle and lie down on the grass. "but you still took me to that all-pink diner and fed me...that money was all you had and I didn't even know and ate like a pig!"

He takes his gloves off and unzips his jumpsuit. "I never enjoyed watching someone eat that much. You looked so unhealthy and pregnant..." my smile fades a little, remembering how Daehyun didn't care to give me the money that I knew was sent to him for me. Kwang wasn't that much of a heartless bastard. He spent it all on booze, women and underage boys. I remember eating leftovers from the trash at three AM in the dark, crying and gagging at the taste but not able to stop eating, fearing that he would wake up any second and force himself on me...again.

I shudder thinking about his rough hands on me and tae's eyes soften. "not many good memories right?" I smile although I feel like throwing up. "only good memories with you...take care tae. don't eat chips for every meal."

He's walking with the phone, probably going to the bathroom to wash up. "I'm not! I eat pizza and cheeseburgers too...even French fries for my daily dose of carbohydrates!" he's grinning like a silly boy now. I stand up and walk toward the house, hearing crickets chirp. I roll my eyes at him. "very funny. It's like you take care of everyone but yourself."

He ignores my comment. "enough talking for one night. Go to joon he might wake up scared." I narrow my eyes at him. "no calling for a week for you!" he laughs and takes his shirt off, making me stop in my steps. "hey hang up first!" he grabs his phone and smirks at me. "why don't you hang up yourself?!" I scoff and hang up. Ever since that weird night we shared, he's been sometimes too playful and I don't know whether to take is seriously at times.

I look at the vase of blue flowers on the table beside the window, visible in the dim lights outside. They were there when we came and I've been watering them, not even knowing who put them there in the first place.

***

I take a cab with joon who's feeling better today because of tae's promise to him, asking me excitedly where we're going.

I don't have the heart to tell him. I remember his first vaccination. When I saw the needle, I cried before joon and the nurse actually had to stop everything because of me being a mess. I was a 17-year-old father with post-partum depression, not wanting to see my baby in pain. So I went home that day, and when tae was home from working his part-time job, he asked me what happened and I cried again. I remember him worried about me. All I did was cry those days. He had to take joon himself the day after, and I cried again when I saw the cute band-aid on his tiny leg after.

Now I'm better but still shed a tear or two upon seeing joon getting needles in him.

I try to smile. "we're gonna see Yoongi." I didn't know where I should go for this and maybe I wanted to see Yoongi and try to make things better with him if possible and it was a good excuse. I even tried to look good with skinny jeans and a slightly tight shirt.

He shrugs in his blue jumpsuit, uninterested. "I don't really like him." I feel like laughing but scold him anyway. "he's a very good person and you'll see for yourself."

He puts his chin forward and reminds me of his father. I think about him a lot lately...what is he doing now? Would he want to see joon? I don't have his number or address and I don't think he's gonna be interested anyway. Joon has tae's name in his records as his father, not him.

I look at my black saddle bag, having joon's IDs and vaccinations records in them. My baby is gonna find out soon!

When we get to the hospital jin told me the name of, I pay the driver and we get out. I need to find a job soon although tae keeps on wiring money in my account almost every week. I want him to stop worrying about us.

Joon stops in his tracks, recognizing the hospital. He frowns and pouts, anxiously looking at me. "why are we going here? You said we're gonna see yoonie." I purse my lips together, picking him up although he's a little too heavy for me now. "yes baby. Yoongi's a doctor." He calms down a bit.

I had a pregnancy full of problems and it didn't help joon's health. He gets sick easily and it took a few years for his body to get strong after being born underweight and prematurely. He still is a little more sensitive than children his age and that's why he gets hospitalized often for bad colds.

He wraps himself around me, hiding his face in my neck like always. I go to the information desk and ask for Yoongi.

When we get into the elevator, joon sneakily pushes a few buttons we don't need and people look at him disapprovingly. I should tell him he shouldn't do that but his mischievous face with his tongue between his teeth is too cute for me to care.