Tranquility

Memories

Mingyu POV

Another two weeks pass by, and still Jihoon can't remember me. Despite that, we have been spending a lot of time together throughout Jihoon's recovery.

I've repeated the stories I told him on our first night together, upon his request, countless times. He's convinced that they help because what was once fuzzy about me in his mind, is starting to clear. I hope he's right.

"Are you ready Mingyu?" Jihoon's nurse, Nicha, asks me. Today is the day Jihoon gets to come home. His nurse and I both made sure that he was okay to come back with me because if not, Seokmin said I could stay at his place. Him and Jisoo were just released a few days ago after their recovery went smoothly.

A thumb jabs into my side, and I look down to see Jihoon staring up at me. "Ready?" he signs.

I nod before taking his hand and leading him out of room 4247 for the last time. We walk down the hall, take the elevator to the first floor, and sign Jihoon out at the front desk. When Jihoon gets distracted by the aquarium, the lady behind the desk gives my hand a squeeze.

"Good luck Mingyu, I wish you two the best," she says with a small smile.

"Thank you," I reply returning it.

Jihoon and I make our way out to my car, where I wait for him to get in before doing so myself. Never again will I risk leaving his side.

The ride to our apartment is silent. Jihoon keeps his small hand on my thigh the entire time, while he looks out of the window at everything passing by.

We arrive shortly, and I ask Jihoon to wait in the car until I make my way around to him. He gives me a tiny nod and remains where he is.

I grab his bag from the back seat and then make my way over to his door, opening it and taking his hand in mine. We then make our way up the stairs and to our apartment door.

"This is where we live," I tell Jihoon while unlocking the door.

I enter our medium sized home and turn back to look at Jihoon. He looks rather anxious, something I didn't really expect.

"It's okay," I comfort him, grabbing his hand and squeezing tightly. "Trust me."

He nods at my words, and cautiously takes a step inside our living room. I barely have time to shut the door behind him before he falls to the ground holding his head. I crouch in front of him, holding his face in my large hands.

"Ji, look at me. It's okay," I speak calmly.

He looks up at me, eyes wide. Then he signs.

"I remember." My eyes widen.

"Remember what?" I ask, trying not to get my hopes up.

"I remember moving in," he signs with enthusiasm. "Mingyu, I remember our one month anniversary! You made Nakji Bokkeum!"

"I did!" I exclaim, smiling widely. "Your memories are coming back!"

He puts his own hands on my face now as tears form in his eyes. "Gyu..." he whispers.

I freeze. Did Jihoon just speak?! His voice was raspy and barely audible from years of neglect, but he said "Gyu." He said my name.

"Jihoon?!" I yell, shocking him. "You said my name!"

He nods, his smile blinding as tears pour from his eyes. I pull him to me in a bone crushing hug, knocking us over in the process. As Jihoon falls on top of me, tears begin to fall from my own eyes.

Not only did Jihoon remember something about me, about us, but he spoke for the first time. I've heard little noises from him before, but never his voice. No matter how rough and gravely it sounded, it was beautiful even then. I can't even begin to imagine what he would sound like if he spoke all the time.

I lose track of how long we stay there before Jihoon pulls away. "Pictures Gyu," he signs.

"OH MY GOSH JI!!" I yell excited. "I NEVER THOUGHT OF THAT!!"

He laughs silently at my outburst while placing a single finger in front of his lips. I smile up at him lovingly. He remembers me...

Jihoon POV

The moment I stepped into our apartment, the memories of our one year anniversary came rushing back to me. Who Mingyu is to me, came rushing back to me. My love for him knocked all of the air out of my lungs, and I fell to my knees.

I did not expect that only moments later, I would speak his name. My voice sounded awful, but despite that, Mingyu was still overloaded with joy.

"Okay Ji," he says as he returns to the couch where I've been waiting for the last few minutes. "I found our stash of pictures."

He begins to pull out photo after photo. I recognize some of the more recent ones, but the farther back they date, the more trouble I have remembering them. For those, Mingyu simply explains the story behind them. Some of his explanations bring back the memories, but others don't.

We spend a few hours looking through pictures, but eventually I feel overloaded.

"Can we take a break? I think my brain might explode if we keep going," I sign to Mingyu.

"Of course, I'm glad your memories are returning, but I also don't want to mess things up by doing too much," he signs back. "We have plenty of time."

"Thank you Gyu," I sign. "Just being able to remember you is enough."

My words bring a smile to his face that's big enough to show off his beautiful canines.

"Do you want to watch a movie?" he signs.

"Sure, you pick," I sign.

While Mingyu looks for a movie, I get up to go find a blanket. My brain doesn't fully remember the layout of our place, but my feet seem to. They take me to a tiny closet in the hallway. I open the door and find a large gray blanket before me.

A memory flashes through my mind. I grab the blanket and hurry back to Mingyu's side.

"Mingyu," I sign after poking him. "We used this same blanket the night you told me about your mom, didn't we?"

He looks at me with a look of confusion for a moment, probably trying to remember himself, before shaking his head yes.

"Yeah," he says. "When did you remember that?"

"I got up to find a blanket, and my feet took me to this one. When I saw it, I remembered," I sign.

Without another word, Mingyu pulls me into a hug, blanket and all. "I'm so happy," he whispers.

I hug him back as best as I can with the blanket in between us. He's been through so much lately. I think back to what he told me the first night he spent with me while I was recovering. As my post-coma thoughts and my past thoughts of Mingyu begin to collide in my brain, I realize the severity of what he said to me that night.

I pull away, the blanket falling between our feet. Mingyu only has a moment, but that's all it takes for him to form a questioning look on his face. Then, I hit his chest hard with my small fists.

"OW, Jihoon what the heck?!" he whines.

"You tried to kill yourself," I sign. When I couldn't remember who Mingyu was, that statement didn't hit as hard for some reason, but now remembering how much he means to me, I'm angry.

"I-I don't know what to say..." he stammers in response. "I told you that over two weeks ago, why the sudden change?"

"Because I remember you now asshole," I sign.

"I'm sorry Jihoon..." he says, his voice barely above a whisper.

"You stupid oaf. Never do something like that ever again," I sign before wrapping my arms around his waist once again.

"I won't, I promise," he says sounding defeated.

I let him go after a few minutes, and wipe a few stray tears from his face.

"Come here," I sign pulling him over to the couch with me.

We get comfortable, and with the blanket wrapped tightly around us we start watching the movie. I place my head on Mingyu's shoulder, and he slides down a bit so that I can reach better. Just like in my memory.