Write Me In ✔️

Epilogue

[Namjoon]
"How's she doing?"

Namjoon walks down the sun-dappled sidewalk in the park as he talks to Yoongi over the phone.

He shrugs, even though Yoongi can't see him. "She's fine. Jungkook says she's showing process. Baby steps."

"Do they think she's going to ever be able to retain memories?"

"Not like we do, no. Her brain is permanently damaged because of the car accident. But apparently, a couple days ago, she actually remembered where the silverware drawer was without any help."

"The silverware drawer." Yoongi's snort makes Namjoon bristle.

"It's pretty monumental considering she could barely remember her parents every day, hyung. Give her some credit," Namjoon snaps. "Even her facial memory is slowly improving they say. She's able to recognize her therapist every day now, without help, though she often forgets his name."

"Has she remembered you?"

And just like that a deep, familiar ache pierces Namjoon's heart. "No," he whispers. "She hasn't even said anything about me."

"And you believe her cousin, who's telling you all this?" Yoongi prompts.

Namjoon grimaces. "No matter how much of a prick that kid is, no, Jungkook wouldn't lie about that."

Yoongi has the courtesy to release a small noise of sympathy.

Namjoon bites his lip. It's been five months since she's left.

He still remembers when Jungkook had first broken to him the plan of what was going to happen in the coffeeshop.

The doctors wanted to try one more time to see if they could improve her memory retention; especially after it became clear that she had special value of her notebook.

Even though the notebook had been given to her after the car accident, her brain had managed to become attached to it and recognize it as something very important to her.

Encouraged by this small sign, her doctors had decided to resume therapy in hopes to increase possible memory retention. But for "optimal" results, they wanted to get her out of the bustling town they lived in. Somewhere with less distractions and she could focus entirely on the therapy.

That's where her cousin came in. His family lived in the countryside and they were more than eager to welcome her into the house. Jungkook had come into town to convince her parents about the idea, and then had taken her home with him.

"You holding up buddy?" Yoongi's voice crackles over the line.

Namjoon exhales and rubs his eyes. The afternoon in the park suddenly seems too bright and cheerful. "Yeah. I'm okay."

"Why did you want to try and get close to her in the first place?"

Namjoon's eyes flutter close briefly. "Because everyone left her after the accident."

He'd always admired her from a distance at school. She was always surrounded by friends and had been such a happy person. But after the terrible accident, he watched as all her friends abandoned her.

In a way, he couldn't blame them. There were only so many times they could introduce themselves to her.

Eventually, everyone left her; and of course, she never noticed. He often saw her in the park by herself, wandering around, enjoying nature. So one day, he'd decided to approach her. And from there, it was history.

"She was all alone," Namjoon murmurs. "No one deserves to be alone."

Yoongi exhales. "Alright, well, I'm going out with some boys for the rest of the afternoon. I'll swing by your house tonight. Is that cool with you?"

"Yeah, sounds good. See you then." Namjoon hangs up and takes a deep breath.

He had first met her in this very park. The trees and grass were in fully flushed bright colors of new birth.

Namjoon clutches his notepad as he watches a leaf spiral down from a tree. There's something about the way leaves fall; the way they twirl and swirl out of control, trying to stay afloat. In the end they all fall to the ground.

A small spark of inspiration ignites in his mind and he makes his way to his favorite bench. It's been a while since he's been able to write something and his hands now itch to put the pen to paper.

But when he nears his usual bench his footsteps slow down. Confusion clouds his mind. Someone's already sitting there on the bench.

He approaches behind, so he cannot see the stranger's face. But he can tell it's a girl. Her hair swept back behind her ear.

His heart begins to beat faster. Can it be... no. It can't be. It's impossible.

She's looking down at something in her lap.

When he draws up behind her he can finally see what it is.

A notebook.

Alerted by his footsteps the girl looks up.

She turns around.

And he forgets how to breathe.

-THE END-

❀

[A/N:] Hmm, isn't it funny that if you read the first chapter of this book after the epilogue, it makes sense? Or maybe I'm just playing too hard ;)

Thank you guys so much for reading this book. I hope you enjoyed reading this short story.